d 2
INDEX
G.S PAPER II ...... 4 11.4 Camel Culling in Australia ...... 39 1. POLITY ...... 4 11.5 State of Climate of India in 2019 ...... 40 1.1 Karnataka MLAs Defection ...... 4 12. Internal Security ...... 41 1.2 Tulu in VIII Schedule...... 5 12.1 Role of Chief of Defence Staff ...... 41 1.3 Governors Vs State Governments ...... 7 PRELIM BITS ...... 42 2. Government Acts & Policies ...... 8 13. History and Art & Culture ...... 42 2.1 Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) ...... 8 Savitribai Phule ...... 42 2.2 Swachh Survekshan 2020 ...... 9 Yashagana...... 43 2.3 Mining laws (Amendment) Ordinance 2020 ...... 10 Lai Haraoba...... 43 2.4 Medical Termination of Pregnancy Bill, 2020 ...... 11 Patola Saree...... 43 3. Social Justice ...... 12 Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) ...... 43 3.1 Bru Agreement ...... 12 Pink City Jaipur ...... 44 3.2 Annual Status of Education Report 2019 ...... 13 Markandeshwar Temple ...... 44 4. Health ...... 14 Gurudwara Nankana Sahib ...... 44 Visakha Utsav ...... 45 4.1 Ending Tuberculosis by 2025 ...... 14 Nagardhan Excavations ...... 45 5. India & Its Neighborhood ...... 15 Queen Prabhavatigupta ...... 45 5.1 Terror Funding and Pakistan ...... 15 Vakataka dynasty ...... 45 6. International Relations ...... 17 Madhavpur Mela...... 46 6.1 Killing of General Qassem Soleimani of Iran ...... 17 Bhakta Ramadasu ...... 46 6.2 California Consumer Privacy Act ...... 18 Gandhi an Anthropologist ...... 46 6.3 ICJ’s Ruling for Rohingya ...... 20 Seke Language ...... 47 G.S PAPER III ...... 21 14. Geography ...... 47 7. Economy ...... 21 Yarrabubba Crater ...... 47 7.1 NCLAT’s Order - Reinstating Cyrus Mistry ...... 21 Geological time scale ...... 47 7.2 NSO Advance Estimates ...... 23 Belum Caves ...... 48 7.3 Air India Disinvestment ...... 24 Hydrothermal vents ...... 48 8. Infrastructure ...... 25 Indian Ocean Dipole ...... 48 8.1 Unified Ministry for Energy Sector ...... 25 Madden Julian Oscillation ...... 49 8.2 Restructuring Railways ...... 26 Sambhar Salt Lake ...... 49 8.3 Integrated Housing Development Strategy ...... 28 Chilika Lake ...... 49 8.4 102 Lakh Crore Infrastructure Plan ...... 30 15. Polity ...... 50 9. Agriculture ...... 30 GST Council Voting ...... 50 9.1 Farm Loan Waiver ...... 30 Article 131 ...... 50 9.2 Dealing with Onion Price Rise ...... 32 Bodoland Territorial Area ...... 51 10. Science & Technology ...... 33 Bodo Accord ...... 51 10.1 Indian Science Congress - Changing Trend ...... 33 Bru-Reang Agreement ...... 51 10.2 Indian Cobra Genome Decoded ...... 34 The agreement mentions the following...... 52 11. Environment ...... 35 Anticipatory Bail ...... 52 11.1 India State of Forest Report ...... 35 Scientific Social Responsibility ...... 52 11.2 Balancing between Coal-fired Power and Renewables Commission on Other Backward Classes ...... 53 36 National Startup Advisory Council ...... 53 11.3 Bushfire ...... 37 Reciprocating Territory ...... 53
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National Data and Analytics Platform (NDAP) ...... 54 Polar Science ...... 64 National Informatics Centre ...... 54 20. International issues and events ...... 65 Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Block chain Technology ...... 54 International Day of Yoga ...... 65 Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Center (I4C) ...... 55 JUS COGENS ...... 65 National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal ...... 55 Cultural Heritage of Iran ...... 66 NEST ...... 55 Cultural properties destroyed during wars ...... 66 16. Government Initiatives ...... 56 Al-Shabaab Militant Group ...... 66 Youth Co:Lab ...... 56 Sagarmatha Sambaad ...... 66 e-BCAS Project ...... 56 21. Economy ...... 67 University for Transgender Community ...... 56 eBkray ...... 67 Indian science congress ...... 56 Economic Survey...... 67 Women Science Congress ...... 57 TCEPF ...... 67 Education Related Initiatives of HRD Ministry ...... 57 22. Environment ...... 68 EQUIP ...... 57 India’s Deep Sea Exploration Project ...... 68 Institution of Eminence (IoE) ...... 57 Samudrayaan ...... 68 SRATS ...... 57 State of India’s forest Report 2019 ...... 68 Higher Education Financing Agency ...... 57 Forest Survey of India ...... 69 Impactful Policy Research in Social Science (IMPRESS) ...... 58 Tree cover and Forest Cover ...... 69 SWAYAM ...... 58 Wetland Conservation Rules ...... 69 SWAYAM PRABHA- DTH Educational Channels ...... 58 India’s prominent wetlands include ...... 70 SHREYAS ...... 58 Wetlands ...... 70 ASEAN Fellowship ...... 58 Ramsar Convention ...... 70 National Educational Alliance for Technology (NEAT) ...... 58 ‘Green Credit Scheme’ ...... 72 Young Scientists Laboratories ...... 58 Dolpin Census ...... 73 GATI Portal ...... 59 Exploratory Drilling License ...... 73 Bharat Parv 2020 ...... 59 Phasing out HCFC-141 b ...... 73 Tribal Youth Exchange Programme ...... 59 1t.org...... 74 Mahatma Gandhi Convention Centre ...... 59 Bio-Rock ...... 74 Integrated Steel Hub ...... 59 National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) ...... 74 MANI App ...... 60 Smog towers ...... 74 17. Government Schemes ...... 60 Scrubbers in Ships ...... 75 SERVICE Scheme ...... 60 Irrawaddy dolphins ...... 75 KIRAN Scheme ...... 61 Northern White Rhinoceros ...... 75 Review of Education schemes of Ministry of HRD in 2019 .... 61 African Cheetahs...... 76 18. bilateral Issues ...... 62 Locust Attack ...... 76 Migration and Mobility Partnership Agreement ...... 62 Giant Tusked Elephant ...... 77 Kalapani Issue ...... 62 Archaea ...... 77 19. International organisations ...... 62 Xenobots ...... 77 UNMOGIP ...... 62 Extraocular Vision ...... 77 Conventions against the targeting of cultural heritage ...... 63 Chinese paddlefish ...... 78 G-77 Nations ...... 63 23. Science and Technology ...... 78 Seafarers’ Competency Certificates ...... 63 Goldilocks zone ...... 78 SAARC ...... 63 TOI 700 d ...... 78 Interpol Notice ...... 64 Venus Volcanoes ...... 78 Classification of Endanger Languages ...... 64 Human Space Flight Centre ...... 79 Endangered Language Alliance ...... 64 GAGANYAAN Mission ...... 79
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Star Link satellites ...... 79 24. Index and Report ...... 85 Bhuvan Panchayat ...... 79 Fastest Growing Cities ...... 85 SISDP-Update Project...... 80 State Energy Efficiency Index 2019 ...... 85 Spitzer Mission ...... 80 Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) ...... 86 Vyommitra ...... 80 Social Mobility Index ...... 86 GSAT-30 ...... 81 World Employment and Social Outlook Trends 2020 (WESO) H9N2 virus ...... 81 ...... 86 Pulse Polio Programme ...... 81 Corruption Perceptions Index ...... 87 Polio Disease...... 82 Democracy Index 2019 ...... 87 EVALI Disease ...... 82 Misery Index ...... 88 Yada Yada virus ...... 82 25. Defence ...... 88 Public Health Emergency of International Concern ...... 82 Dhanush Gun System ...... 88 Sahana ( hemorrhagic septicemia) ...... 83 EX- SAMPRITI ...... 88 Measles ...... 83 Operation Vanilla ...... 88 Coronavirus ...... 83 MILAN 2020 ...... 89 POLYCRACK ...... 84 C-SASE ...... 89 NEON ...... 84 K- 4 Ballistic Missile ...... 89 Lithium Sulfur (Li-S) Battery ...... 84
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JANUARY 2020
G.S PAPER II
1. POLITY
1.1 Karnataka MLAs Defection What is the issue? • The Karnataka Members of Legislative Assembly (MLAs) defected, re-contested, and became members again, all in six months. • The Karnataka by-election results have widely put to display the ineffectiveness of the Anti-Defection Law (ADL). What is the story behind? • Of the 17 defecting Congress-Janata Dal (Secular) MLAs, 11 were re-elected on a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ticket. • These events lay down a well-structured framework to sidestep the law. • It also set a dangerous precedent for neutralising the consequences of the law altogether. Is defection new in Indian politics? • No. The phenomenon of defections has been plaguing the Indian political landscape for over five decades. • As in the Indian political scene for a long time, the legislators used to change parties frequently which often brought about political instability. • The recurrence of this evil phenomenon led to the Anti-Defection Law, which defined three grounds of disqualification of MLAs. What is Anti-Defection Law? • The ADL is contained in the 10th Schedule of the Constitution. • It was enacted by Parliament and came into effect in 1985. • Its purpose is to curb political defection by the legislators. • It has defined three grounds of disqualification of MLAs, 1. Giving up party membership; 2. Going against party whip; and 3. Abstaining from voting. Why resignation not being considered as a condition, a concern? • Resignation as MLA was not one of the conditions of disqualification. • Exploiting this loophole, the 17 Karnataka MLAs resigned, their act aimed at ending the majority of the ruling coalition and, at the same time, avoiding disqualification. • However, the Speaker (presiding officer of the Assembly) refused to accept the resignations and declared them disqualified. • This was possible as the legislation empowers the presiding officer of the House to decide on complaints of defection under no time constraint. What this legislation was constrained? • 1985 - The law originally protected the Speaker’s decision from judicial review. • 1992 - This safeguard was struck down in Kihoto Hollohan case 1992.
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• While the SC upheld the Speaker’s discretionary power, it underscored that the Speaker functioned as a tribunal under the ADL, thereby making her/his decisions subject to judicial review. • This judgment enabled judiciary to become the watchdog of the ADL, instead of the Speaker, who increasingly had become a political character contrary to the expected neutral constitutional role. • 2019 - The same could be witnessed in Shrimanth Patel & Ors vs Speaker Karnataka Legislative Assembly, where the SC bench upheld the then Karnataka Speaker’s decision of disqualification of the 17 MLAs. • However, it struck down his ban on the MLAs from contesting elections till 2023, negating the only possible permanent solution to the problem. What are the safeguards in ADL? • The ADL provided a safeguard for defections made on genuine ideological differences. • It allowed the formation of a new party or “merger” with other political party if not less than two-thirds of the party’s members commit to it. • The 91st Constitutional Amendment of 2003 barred the appointment of defectors as Ministers until their disqualification period is over or they are re-elected, whichever is earlier. • But, obviously, such laws have not put to rest the trend of defections. What could be done? • As witnessed in Karnataka, the main problem is that the defectors treat disqualification as a mere detour, before they return to the House or government by re-contesting. • This can only be stopped by extending the disqualification period from re-contesting and appointment to Chairmanships/Ministries to at least 6 years. • The minimum period limit of 6 years is needed to ensure that the defectors are not allowed to enter the election fray for least one election cycle, which is 5 years. • MLAs can still be bought from the ruling dispensation to bring it to a minority by being paid hefty sums, simply to stay at home for 6 years. • Almost every political outfit has been party to such devious games, with hardly any political will to find a solution.
1.2 Tulu in VIII Schedule What is the issue? • There is a strong case for adding Tulu, among other languages in the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution. • Placing all deserving languages in the Constitution on an equal footing will promote social inclusion and national solidarity. What is the current situation? • According to the 2001 Census, India has 30 languages that are spoken by more than a million people each. • Additionally, it has 122 languages that are spoken by at least 10,000 people each. • It also has 1,599 languages, most of which are dialects. • These are restricted to specific regions and many of them are on the verge of extinction. • India must accommodate this plethora of languages in its cultural discourse and administrative apparatus. What are the Constitutional provisions? • Article 29 of the Constitution provides that a section of citizens having a distinct language, script or culture have the right to conserve the same. • Both the state and the citizens have an equal responsibility to conserve the distinct language, script and culture of a people.
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• Among the legion of languages in India, the Constitution has 22 languages. They are protected in Schedule VIII of the Constitution. What about the languages that aren’t protected? • Many languages that are kept out of this favoured position are in some ways more deserving to be included in the Eighth Schedule. • For example, Sanskrit, an Eighth Schedule language, has only 24,821 speakers (2011 Census). • Manipuri, another scheduled language, has only 17,61,079 speakers. • However, many unscheduled languages have a sizeable number of speakers: Bhili/Bhilodi has 1,04,13,637 speakers; Gondi has 29,84,453 speakers; Ho, 14,21,418; Khandeshi, 18,60,236; Khasi, 14,31,344, etc. What is the status of Tulu? • Tulu is a Dravidian language whose speakers are concentrated in two coastal districts of Karnataka and in Kasaragod district of Kerala. • The Census reports 18,46,427 native speakers of Tulu in India. • The Tulu-speaking people are larger in number than speakers of Manipuri and Sanskrit, which have the Eighth Schedule status. • Robert Caldwell, in his book, called Tulu as one of the most highly developed languages of the Dravidian family. • The cities of Mangaluru, Udupi and Kasaragod are the epicentres of Tulu culture. • At present, Tulu is not an official language in India or any other country. • Efforts are being made to include Tulu in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution. What does the Yuelu Proclamation say? • The Yuelu Proclamation, made by the UNESCO in 2018, says that the protection and promotion of linguistic diversity, 1. Helps to improve social inclusion and partnerships, 2. Helps to reduce the gender and social inequality between different native speakers, 3. Guarantee the rights for speakers of endangered, minority, indigenous, non-official languages and dialects to receive education, 4. Enhance the social inclusion level and social decision-making ability. • India has a lot to learn from the Yuelu Proclamation. What would be the advantages? • If Tulu is included in the Eighth Schedule, it would get recognition from the Sahitya Akademi. • Tulu books would be translated into other recognised Indian languages. • Members of Parliament (MPs) and Members of State Assemblies (MLAs) could speak in Tulu in Parliament and State Assemblies, respectively. • Candidates could write all-India competitive examinations like the Civil Services exam in Tulu. • Placing of all the deserving languages on equal footing will promote social inclusion and national solidarity. • It will reduce the inequalities within the country to a great extent. • So, Tulu, along with other deserving languages, should be included in the Eighth Schedule in order to substantially materialise the promise of equality of status and opportunity mentioned in the Preamble.
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1.3 Governors Vs State Governments What is the issue? • The endless squabbles between the Governors and respective State governments in Kerala and West Bengal are alarming. • These Governors have arrogated to themselves an activist role, which is at the heart of the tensions. What did the Governors do? • Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan has made repeated public statements on controversial questions such as the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019. • He has said that it was his duty to defend the laws made by the Centre. • He must be mindful that the Constitution envisages the execution of popular will through an elected government. • West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar often appears eager for the next spectacular showdown with the State government. • The parties barring the central ruling party in both States are agitated over the proactive and provocative roles of their respective Governors. • The active profiles of these Governors are symptomatic of a larger malaise of degrading relations between the Centre and States ruled by parties opposed to the central ruling party. What is the Constitutional role of the Governor? • The Constitution seeks to bolster centripetal forces in this vast and diverse country, and the Centre’s power to appoint Governors is one such. • The Governor’s constitutional role has been debated and interpreted through several cases. • But ingenious occupants of the office have managed to push the boundaries with unprecedented moves. How is this office being used? • Sagacious occupants have used the Governor’s office to promote national integration. • Many others have merely acted as agents of the ruling party at the Centre. • Using a pliant Governor to undermine a State government or engineer a legislative majority is an old and secular trick used by all parties at the Centre. How is the current conflict different? • State government-Governor conflicts have hence not been rare, but what makes the current situation extraordinary is the political context. • No other government in the past has sought to construct a centralising narrative for the nation as the current one at the Centre. • No government in the past has been as intolerant as the current one is towards its diversity. • In this schema, the Governor appears to have a critical, instrumental role. • In 2019, the ignominious role played by the then Governor of Jammu and Kashmir in ending its special constitutional status is instructive. How the Governor’s office should be? • The Governor’s role as a link between the State and the Centre shall not be an imperial one. • The office of the Governor must be a dialogic and consultative one. • The combative posturing in Kerala and West Bengal will bring more disarray, no unity. • The Centre must treat State governments with the respect that democratically elected governments deserve.
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2. GOVERNMENT ACTS & POLICIES
2.1 Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) What is the issue? • The government is going to revisit the flagship crop insurance scheme - the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY). • This is welcomed as it will make this well-intentioned risk-mitigation measure beneficial for the farmers. What is PMFBY? • The PMFBY or Prime Minister's Crop Insurance Scheme was launched in 2016. • It is aimed at reducing agricultural distress at instances of monsoon fluctuations induced price risks. • It fixes a uniform premium of just 2% to be paid by farmers for Kharif crops and 1.5% for Rabi crops. • The premium for annual commercial and horticultural crops will be 5%. What is need for a review? • The need for a review and revamp of the PMFBY was felt soon after its launch in 2016. • For the review, a high-level group of ministers (GoM) headed by the defence minister and having the home minister as a member, among others, is set up. • Having field experts, along with representatives of the stakeholders like farmers, insurance companies, and the state governments as members, could perhaps do a better job. • This scheme, despite being better than all its predecessors, had failed to impress any stakeholder because of some inherent structural, financial, and logistical deficiencies. What are the evident dissatisfactions about the scheme? • The dissatisfaction is evident from the decision of 3 major agricultural states to withdraw from it - Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, and Bihar. • At least 3 more states are intending to do so - Karnataka, Gujarat, and Odisha. • They find the cost of running the scheme higher than the benefits from it • Therefore, they are making alternative arrangements for recompensing the farmers’ losses. • Four private insurance companies have also opted out of it, maintaining that it is a loss-making business. • More companies are likely to quit this business, though the common impression is that the insurers are cornering the bulk of the subsidy given by the government. • The farmers are also discontented with the scheme. What are the flaws? • A key flaw in the design of the PMFBY is the involvement of the states as equal partners with the Centre for sharing expenses. • Defaults in the payment of their share of funds affect the insurance companies’ ability to clear settlement claims promptly. • Empowering the states to notify the crops, the extent of the land, and the maximum sum that can be insured have also contributed to the PMFBY’s downfall. • The states often fix the caps rather low to contain their financial burden, thereby curtailing the scheme’s utility for the cultivators. • Moreover, allowing banks to insure the crops of their borrowers is another problematic feature of the scheme. • The banks usually adjust the settlement amounts against the loans, thus leaving the farmers high and dry. • The insured cultivators often do not even get to know the details of the transactions.
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What could be done? • As the scheme had envisaged, the use of technology, notably satellite imaging, to expedite the assessment of crop losses should happen to the desired extent. • The methods used by the state governments to gauge the damage are mostly time-consuming and non- transparent, resulting in trust deficit. • Therefore, inadequate or non-payment of compensation is the main grudge of the farmers against the scheme. • If the GoM can suitably address these and other minor, but pertinent, glitches in the implementation of the PMFBY, this vital risk-hedging measure can prove a boon for the farmers.
2.2 Swachh Survekshan 2020 Why in News? The Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MOHUA) has released the results of the Swachh Survekshan League 2020 recently. What is Swachh Survekshan? • The Swachh Survekshan is the world's largest cleanliness survey which covers more than 4370 Indian cities. • It was rolled out 4 years ago as the answer to a problem that municipal law failed to solve. • It is a completely digitized and paperless survey. What is the survey’s purpose? • Sanitation and public health are responsibilities of State governments. • It is no secret that they have spectacularly failed at managing growing volumes of municipal and hazardous waste. • The problem has only been compounded by the absence of plans that take a holistic view of housing, sanitation, water supply, waste management and transport. What did the MOHUA do? • Ahead of the launch of Swachh Survekshan 2020, the Union MOHUA is trying to stir up competition among cities. • It stirs up by pre-ranking them for their performance during 2019 and assigning points to be added this year. • As an idea, unleashing the competitive spirit among States may seem appealing. • But in reality, the problems confronting urban India require large-scale infrastructure creation, full adherence to legal requirements on waste management, and transparent technical audits. • Many cities remain clueless on handling their waste. • Bhopal, which figures among the top 5 cleanest cities under the just-released list, continues to live with the effects of the gas disaster of 1984. • Ranks and prizes clearly cannot solve the national waste management crisis. What are the targets fixed by the MOHUA? • Looking ahead to the next edition of the Survekshan, the MOHUA has identified ambitious targets like, 1. 100% processing and safe disposal of waste. 2. Complete faecal sludge and septage management and 3. Wastewater treatment and reuse. • The Ministry has also sanctioned funds under the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) to help States set up facilities necessary to manage waste. What could be done? • States should ask for extended funding under such schemes to create the infrastructure for a future-focused clean-up.
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• Simultaneously, they should institute measures to reduce waste. • The emphasis worldwide is on creating a circular economy centred at the principle of material recovery from all kinds of waste, reuse, recycling and reduced pressure on natural resources. • A sound ranking of cities and towns would naturally give the highest weightage to this dimension of sustainable management, replacing symbolism with an environmentally sound approach. • Such rigour in policy formulation can make the Centre’s goal of eliminating single-use plastic by 2022 seem more realistic, and industry would find a compelling reason to switch to alternatives. • Retooling Swachh Survekshan 2020 to go beyond perception management and adopt sustainability is essential to make it a genuine contest.
2.3 Mining laws (Amendment) Ordinance 2020 Why in News? The Union Cabinet approved the promulgation of Mineral Laws (Amendment) Ordinance 2020. What are the decisions taken? • The Centre has decided to, 1. Liberalise norms for entry into coal mining and 2. Relax regulations on mining and selling coal in the country. • The Union Cabinet approved promulgation of Mineral Laws Ordinance 2020 to amend, 1. The Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Act, 2015, and 2. The Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957. • Amendments to these two Acts cleared by the Cabinet will free the sector from restrictions that were inhibiting its development. • This will open up the coal mining sector completely, enabling anyone with finances and expertise to bid for blocks and sell the coal freely to any buyer of their choice. What was the case till now? • Until now there were restrictions on who could bid for coal mines. • Only those in power, iron and steel, and coal washery business could bid for mines and the bidders needed prior experience of mining in India. • This effectively limited the potential bidders to a select circle of players and thus limited the value that the government could extract from the bidding. • The end-use restrictions inhibited the development of a domestic market for coal. What will the ordinance do? • The ordinance democratises the coal industry and makes it attractive for merchant mining companies, including multinationals to look at India. • The move was behind the schedule considering that the country spent ₹ 1,71,000 crore in coal imports last year to buy 235 million tonnes, of this, 1. 100 million tonnes was not substitutable, as the grade was not available in India, 2. 135 million tonnes could have been substituted by domestic production had it been available. What will be the ordinance’s impact? • Large investment in mining will create jobs and set off demand in critical sectors such as mining equipment and heavy commercial vehicles. • The country may benefit from infusion of sophisticated mining technology, especially for underground mines, if multinationals decide to invest. • However, for that to happen, the government needs to do more such as,
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1. Shaping the time taken for approvals of mining leases and 2. Easing the procedures for clearances. • The test would come when 46 producing mines, whose leases expire in March 2020, come up for bidding shortly. What does the ordinance mean to CIL? • Coal India Limited (CIL) is a Maharatna PSU and tremendous public resources have been invested in the company over the years. • The company employs about 3 lakh people and is a national asset. • Opening up of coal mining effectively ends CIL’s monopoly status. • It is the responsibility of the government to ensure that CIL is not compromised the way BSNL has been by the opening up to private players. • Coal Minister emphasised that the CIL has been and will be allotted adequate blocks and that it will be supported and the interests of labourers will be taken care of. • CIL has to be nurtured even as private players are welcomed.
2.4 Medical Termination of Pregnancy Bill, 2020 Why in News? The Union Cabinet has approved the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Bill, 2020 to amend the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971. What are the proposed amendments? • It has proposed a requirement for opinion of one provider for termination of pregnancy, up to 20 weeks of gestation. • It has also introduced the requirement of opinion of two providers for termination of pregnancy of 20-24 weeks of gestation. • It enhanced the upper gestation limit from 20 to 24 weeks for special categories of women which will be defined in the amendments to the MTP Rules which would include vulnerable women. • The upper gestation limit would not apply in cases of substantial foetal abnormalities diagnosed by Medical Board. • The name and other particulars of a woman whose pregnancy has been terminated shall not be revealed except to a person authorised in any law for the time being in force. What is the significance of increasing the gestation limit? • The government reasoned that the extension is significant because some women realise the need for an abortion after the first 20 weeks of pregnancy. • Usually, the foetal anomaly scan is done during the 20th-21st week of pregnancy. • If there is a delay in doing this scan, and it reveals a lethal anomaly in the foetus, 20 weeks is limiting. • The extension of limit would ease the process for the distressed pregnant women, allowing the mainstream system itself to take care of them, delivering quality medical attention. How the decision to abort should be taken? • The question of abortion needs to be decided on the basis of human rights, the principles of solid science, and in step with advancements in technology. • A key aspect of the legality governing abortions has always been the ‘viability’ of the foetus. • In human gestation, ‘viability’ indicates the period from which a foetus is capable of living outside the womb. • There is no uniform gestational viability for abortion. It’s usually placed at about 28 weeks but may occur earlier, even at 24 weeks.
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• As technology improves, with infrastructure upgradation, and with skilful professionals driving medical care, this ‘viability’ naturally improves.
3. SOCIAL JUSTICE
3.1 Bru Agreement Why in News? An agreement was signed recently among the Bru leaders and the Governments of India, Tripura, and Mizoram. What is in the Bru agreement? • This agreement gives the Bru community their choice of living in either the state of Tripura or Mizoram. • All Bru currently living in temporary relief camps in Tripura will be settled in the state, if they want to stay on. • The Bru who returned to Mizoram in the eight phases of repatriation since 2009, cannot, however, come back to Tripura. • To ascertain the numbers of those who will be settled, a fresh survey and physical verification of Bru families living in relief camps will be carried out. • The Centre will implement a special development project for the resettled Bru; this will be in addition to the Rs 600 crore fund announced for the process, including benefits for the migrants. What benefits will the Bru community get? • Each resettled family will get 0.03 acre of land for building a home, Rs 1.5 lakh as housing assistance, and Rs 4 lakh as a one-time cash benefit for sustenance. • They will also receive a monthly allowance of Rs 5,000, and free rations for 2 years from the date of resettlement. • All cash assistance will be through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT). • The state government will expedite the opening of bank accounts and the issuance of Aadhaar, permanent residence certificates, ST certificates, and voter identity cards to the beneficiaries. • All dwelling houses will be constructed and payments completed within 270 days of the signing of the agreement. Where will the Bru be resettled? • Revenue experts reckon 162 acres will be required. Tripura Chief Minister (CM) has said that the effort will be to choose government land. • But since Tripura is a small state, this government would explore the possibility of diverting forest lands, even reserve forest areas if necessary, to grant the new entitlements. • However, diverting forest land for human settlements will need clearance from the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests, which is likely to take at least 3 months. What is the condition of the migrants now? • The Bru or Reang are a community indigenous to Northeast India, living mostly in Tripura, Mizoram, and Assam. • In Tripura, they are recognised as a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG). • In October 1997, following ethnic clashes, nearly 37,000 Bru fled Mizoram to Tripura, where they were sheltered in relief camps. Of this, 1. 5,000 people have returned to Mizoram in 9 phases of repatriation, 2. 32,000 people still live in 6 relief camps in North Tripura. • Under a relief package announced by the Centre, a daily ration of 600 g rice was provided to every adult Bru migrant and 300 g to every minor.
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• They depended on the wild for vegetables, and some of them have been practising slash-and-burn (jhum) cultivation in the forests. • They live in makeshift bamboo thatched huts, without permanent power supply and safe drinking water, with no access to proper healthcare services or schools. How did the agreement come about? • June 2018 - Bru leaders signed an agreement with the Centre and the two state governments, providing for repatriation to Mizoram. • However, most residents of the camps rejected the insufficient terms of the agreement. • The camp residents said the package did not guarantee their safety in Mizoram, and that they feared a repeat of the violence that had forced them to flee. • November 2019 - A scion of Tripura’s erstwhile royal family, wrote to Home Minister seeking the resettlement of the Bru in the state. • After that, Tripura CM too, asked the Centre for permanent settlement of the Bru in Tripura. How is this agreement different from the earlier initiatives taken for the Bru? • Successive state and central governments had thus far stressed only on peacefully repatriating the Bru, even though the enduring fear of ethnic violence remained a fundamental roadblock. • The two other durable solutions for refugees and displaced persons suggested by the UN Refugee Agency - local integration or assimilation, and resettlement - were never explored. • The Bru speak Kaubru, Kokborok and Bangla, the latter two are the most widely spoken languages of the tribal and non-tribal communities of Tripura, and have an easy connection with the state. • Their long stay in Tripura, albeit in exile and in terrible conditions, has also acquainted them very well with the state’s socio-political ecology. • Home Minister who presided over the signing of the agreement, hailed the “historic” resolution of the Bru issue.
3.2 Annual Status of Education Report 2019 Why in News? The Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2019 data on early childhood education in rural areas was released recently. What is the ASER report? • ASER report is prepared by an NGO called Pratham. • The ASER surveyors visited almost 37,000 children between 4 and 8 years in 26 rural districts across 24 States. • They asked each child to do a variety of tasks testing cognitive skills as well as simple literacy and numeracy tests. • Social and emotional development was tracked through activities using cards with faces showing happiness, sadness, anger and fear. What are the findings in the report? • Only 16% of children in Class 1 in 26 surveyed rural districts can read text at the prescribed level while almost 40% can’t even recognise letters. • Only 41% of these children could recognise two digit numbers. • Two-thirds of those in the Class 2 cannot read a text at age 7 that they were meant to read a year earlier. • The performance only marginally improves for those in the Class 3. There are similar inadequacies for numeracy skills. • Students appear to fare somewhat better in private schools with poorly paid teachers.
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What does the data reveal? • This data makes the case that the pre-school system fails to give children a strong foundation. • This case is true especially in the government-run facilities. • Going by the findings, 1. The percentage of girls in government schools is higher than in private institutions, 2. The cognitive skills of children attending official anganwadi playschools do not match those attending private schools, and 3. There are a significant percentage of underage children in the first standard of formal school, in violation of the stipulated age of six. • It is beyond question that children will be benefitted greatly if they are provided a properly designed environment to acquire cognitive skills. • These skills are critical to their ability to verbalise, count, calculate and make comparisons. What are the issues at policy-level? • The ASER data seem to indicate that there is an apparent imbalance in State policies. • This is disadvantaging the less affluent as anganwadis and government schools are poorly resourced. • Official policies are also not strict about the age of entry, resulting in 4 and 5 year olds accounting for a quarter of government school enrolment, and over 15% in private schools. What are the other problems? • Nationally, the problem is of a weak educational foundation with little scope for creative learning in the 3-to-6 year age group. • Another national problem is governmental system disinterested in giving children motivated, well-trained teachers.
4. HEALTH
4.1 Ending Tuberculosis by 2025 What is the issue? • At the End TB Summit, 2018, the prime minister of India made a bold commitment to end tuberculosis by 2025, 5 years ahead of the global target. • In this context, here is a look at the efforts currently underway and the way forward. What implications does TB have? • India still has the highest TB burden in the world. • Despite the disease being fully curable, people still die from it. • TB usually affects people in their most productive years and drives families into debt. • It has a direct link to human suffering, discrimination and also poverty. • Due to its infectious spread, it directly affects the country’s economic growth as well. What should the approach be? • The first step is the creation of awareness as though TB affects millions, a very few know enough about it. • People should be empowered with the necessary information to identify and recognise TB symptoms, and seek diagnosis and treatment. • There is thus a need for multilingual, multi-stakeholder awareness effort. • The next step is ensuring that all are provided with access to correct diagnosis and treatment for TB, regardless of the ability to pay for it.
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• This can only happen if the government works with the private sector as it did in the case of polio. • Even today, about half a million TB cases go unnotified, especially those seeking care in the private sector. • These missing cases should be tracked and ensured that those in need of care and treatment are able to access it. • Agents need to go door to door, identify TB patients, and provide each of them care with compassion. What are the challenges? • A key challenge is building a forward-looking plan to address and control drug resistance. • This is a man-made menace that is a major roadblock in the fight against TB. • Every TB patient must be tested for drug resistance at the first point of care, whether in the public or private sector. • Every patient who is diagnosed late and does not receive timely treatment continues to infect others. • This cycle of transmission should be ended. What are the measures in place? • Efforts are already on to create more labs, point of care tests, an assured drug pipeline, access to new drugs, and counseling support for those affected. • Recognising that medicines are not enough, the Nikshay Poshan Yojana was launched. • Under this, TB patients receive Rs 500 every month while on treatment. • This is to ensure that the patients have economic support and nutrition during the required period. • On September 25, 2019, the ‘TB Harega Desh Jeetega Campaign’ was launched to accelerate the efforts to end TB by 2025. • By employing a “multi-sectoral and community-led” approach, the government aims at building a national movement to end TB by 2025. • The government has accordingly increased resource allocation towards the TB Elimination Programme four- fold. What should be done? • The government machinery at the field level should work with communities and provide free diagnosis and treatment to every affected individual. • There is also a need to look beyond treatment. • The country should involve all to fight the disease and end the stigma surrounding it. • Every patient should seek care that is free from discrimination and with dignity. • The community must act as a source of support for the patient, which could be achieved through education and awareness
5. INDIA & ITS NEIGHBORHOOD
5.1 Terror Funding and Pakistan Why in News? The Beijing meeting of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) reveal that Pakistan had progressed in its efforts to avoid a blacklisting. What is FATF? • Headquartered in Paris, it was set up in 1989 by the G7 countries. • Objective - FATF acts as an ‘international watchdog’ on issues of money-laundering and financing of terrorism.
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• It is empowered to curtail financing of UN-designated terrorist groups. • It is to limit the concerned countries from sourcing financial flows internationally and thereby constraining them economically. • Members - FATF has 39 members which comprise 37 member jurisdictions and 2 regional organisations, representing most major financial centres in all parts of the globe. • India became a full member in 2010. What is the story behind? • In a plenary meeting held in 2018, the FATF had determined that Pakistan was to be placed on the grey list. • It also presented Pakistan with a 27-point list of actions. • These included freezing the funds of UN Security Council entities such as 26/11 mastermind Hafiz Saeed and the LeT, the JeM and other Taliban-affiliated groups. • The actions also entailed a sustained effort to bring legal action against these groups. • It called for changes to Pakistani law in line with global standards for measures against money laundering and financing terrorism. • Unlike in October 2019, when Pakistan had completed five points, the Beijing meeting has cleared it on 14 points. What will happen in the 2020 plenary meeting? • The plenary meeting of the FATF is expected to be held in Paris soon. • In this meeting, the decision will be taken on whether to, 1. Keep Pakistan on the current “grey list”, 2. Downgrade it to a “black list”, or 3. Let it off altogether for the moment. What will Pakistan’s progress mean to India? • Pakistan’s progress will come as a disappointment to India. • India wants more scrutiny of Pakistan’s support to terror groups lest Islamabad feels it has been let off the hook and there are a few points to consider. • The grey listing is not new. Pakistan was placed on it in 2012 and later removed in 2015 after it passed a National Action Plan to deal with terrorism. • This last grey list period has seen some Indian demands met, including the charge sheeting of Hafiz Saeed for terror financing, and the addition of JeM chief to the UNSC 1267 list. • Although the FATF is a technical organisation, the geopolitics and bilateral deals play a part in deciding outcomes. • As a result, India must study the politics behind Pakistan’s FATF progress. What may happen next? • Officials have suggested that Pakistan’s role in ensuring Taliban talks are brought to a successful conclusion soon may have weighed with the U.S. and its allies in the grouping. • Pakistan could escape being blacklisted in any case, as 1. China in the president’s chair of the FATF and 2. It is also backed by Turkey and Malaysia. • Because of these two reasons, Pakistan has dropped the effort. • India’s objections at the Beijing discussions were not considered as carefully as in the past. • This may be due to India’s recent troubles on the international stage, including the UNSC where China has been allowed to raise the Kashmir issue twice in 5 months, after nearly 5 decades.
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6. INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
6.1 Killing of General Qassem Soleimani of Iran Why in news? Iran’s top security and intelligence commander, Major General Qassem Soleimani, was killed in a US drone attack in Baghdad. What happened? • General Soleimani was killed in an airstrike, for which the US later claimed responsibility. • The strike was carried out by a drone on a road near Baghdad’s international airport. • Soleimani had reportedly just disembarked from a plane. • The blast also killed others including Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis. • He was the deputy commander of the Iranian-backed militias in Iraq known as Popular Mobilisation Forces. • The strike capped a week of conflict between the United States and Iranian-backed militia in Iraq. • It started with a rocket attack at a military base, which killed an American contractor. Who was General Soleimani? • Soleimani, 62, was in charge of the Quds Force of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). • IRGC was designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the US in 2019. • The Quds Force undertakes Iranian missions in other countries, including covert ones. • Soleimani, who had headed the Quds since 1998, had looked after intelligence gathering and covert military operations. • He had also drawn immense influence from his closeness to Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. • He was seen as a potential future leader of Iran, according to various reports. • Given Soleimani’s influence, observers have equated his killing with the killing of a U.S. Vice President. • More than anyone else, Soleimani has been responsible for the creation of an arc of influence, which Iran terms its ‘Axis of Resistance’. • It extends from the Gulf of Oman through Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon to the eastern shores of the Mediterranean Sea. How did Soleimani rise to this stature? • In 1979, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini’s rebellion toppled the Shah in Iran. • Soleimani, then 22, joined the Ayatollah’s Revolutionary Guard. • During the Iran-Iraq War, Soleimani was sent to the front with the task of supplying water to soldiers. • But, he ended up undertaking reconnaissance missions, and earning a reputation for bravery. • In 1998, Soleimani was made head of the Quds Force, which launched his rise to power. How had Soleimani’s experience with the U.S. been? • As Quds head, Soleimani briefly worked in cooperation with the US. • This was during the US crackdown in Afghanistan following 9/11; Soleimani wanted the Taliban defeated.
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• The cooperation ended in 2002 after President George W Bush branded Iran a nuclear proliferator, an exporter of terrorism, and part of an “Axis of Evil”. • The US was accusing Soleimani of plotting attacks on US soldiers following the 2003 invasion of Iraq, which eventually toppled Saddam Hussein. • In 2011, the Treasury Department placed him on a sanctions blacklist. • In recent years, Soleimani was believed to be the chief strategist behind Iran’s military ventures and influence in Syria, Iraq and throughout the Middle East. • Soleimani has sought to reshape the Middle East in Iran’s favour, working as a power broker and as a military force. How has the US justified his killing? • The Department of Defense issued a statement underlining Soleimani’s leadership role in conflict with the US. • General Soleimani and his Quds Force were said to be responsible for the deaths of hundreds of American and coalition service members and the wounding of thousands more. • He had orchestrated attacks on US coalition bases in Iraq over the last several months. • The IRGC FTO designation highlights that Iran is an outlaw regime that uses terrorism as a key tool of statecraft. • The IRGC, part of Iran’s official military, is said to have engaged in terrorist activity or terrorism since its inception 40 years ago. • As per the U.S., the IRGC has been directly involved in terrorist plotting; its support for terrorism is foundational and institutional, and it has killed US citizens. What are the implications? • The strike has left the Middle East vulnerable, with possible repercussions beyond the region. • Iranian President Rouhani said the killing would make Iran more decisive in resisting the US. • The Revolutionary Guards said anti-US forces would invite revenge across the Muslim world. • Reportedly, US officials were braced for Iranian retaliatory attacks, possibly including cyberattacks and terrorism, on American interests and allies. • Israel, too, was preparing for Iranian strikes. • The killing could have a ripple effect in any number of countries across the Middle East where Iran and the US compete for influence. • The State Department urged US citizens to leave Iraq immediately. • Oil prices have already jumped by $3 a barrel. • In India, a high-level meeting involving senior officials was held to assess the impact of a price rise and to review contingency measures.
6.2 California Consumer Privacy Act Why in news? California’s new privacy law, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), recently went into effect. What does the Act aim at? • The Act gives Californians new controls over how companies use their data. • These controls include - 1. the right to access the data 2. the right to ask for its deletion 3. the right to prevent its sale to third parties • Significantly, because of the global nature of the Internet, these changes will affect users worldwide.
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What rights does the CCPA give Californian users? • The users will have the right to see what personal information businesses collect about them, and the purpose and process of the collection. • [Personal information refers to any information that can be linked back to the user.] • Users can request and view what inferences the businesses make about them. • They also have the right to see details about their personal information being sold or given to a third party. • Users can make businesses delete their personal information, and opt out of having their data sold to third parties. • The law lays out some exceptions too. • These include information necessary for completing transactions, providing a service, protecting consumer security, and protecting freedom of speech. • Users can get a copy of the collected personal information for free. • Parents have to give permission to companies before the companies can sell the data of their children under the age of 13 to third parties. Which companies does the law apply to? • The law only applies to businesses - i. with gross annual revenues of more than $25 million ii. that buy, receive or sell the personal information of 50,000 or more consumers in California iii. that derive more than half of their annual revenue from selling consumers’ personal information • The law applies to businesses collecting information of Californians and not just to businesses that operate in the state. What will the implications be? • Unintentional noncompliance will lead to fines of $2,500 per violation. • Intentional noncompliance will attract a penalty of $7,500 per violation. • Some studies estimate it will cost businesses $55 billion to initially meet the standards. • Of this, $16 billion is expected to be spent over the next decade. • Reportedly, the law protects $12 billion worth of personal information that is used for advertising in California every year. What has changed in practical terms? • The law went into effect on January 1, 2020. • The California Attorney General (AG) has not begun enforcing the act yet. • The AG will be allowed to take action 6 months after the rules are finalised. • At the very least, companies will need to set up web pages and phone numbers to take requests. • Users also may begin to see a new button on websites stating “Do Not Sell My Personal Information”. • Several large companies have set up new infrastructure to comply. • Google launched a Chrome extension to block Google Analytics from collecting data. • Facebook has said that the law does not apply to them since they do not “sell” data, and that they already have features that comply with the law. How does this affect non-Californians? • Primarily, even Indian companies that have customers in California would have to comply with the law. • Many firms are finding it easier to make the legal changes for all users rather than trying to distinguish users from California.
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• E.g. the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) too, shifted the entire Internet economy, not just that of the EU What are the concerns? • The Act gives users the right to stop the selling of their data, but not the collection of their data. • So, this regulates the data broker system. • However, it does not do much to affect companies like Facebook and Google that make most of their money by collecting the data, not by selling it. • Advertisers pay Facebook to target ads to users based on that data; they do not pay Facebook for the data itself. • Also, the Act seems to place the burden of navigating this complex economy on users. • There are also concerns that many of the provisions are vaguely worded. • E.g. the Act leaves concepts such as “third-party sharing” or “selling” to interpretation • Also, compliance challenges are expected to be greater with CCPA than with the GDPR. How does this differ from India’s proposed data protection bill? • Several of the rights discussed above are also in India’s Personal Data Protection Bill. • These include the right to access a copy of one’s data, and the right to deletion. • India’s bill goes further in some regards, including the right to correction. • However, India’s bill is more focused on users’ rights over collections. • On the other hand, California’s act is focused more on the third-party sharing and selling of a user’s data.
6.3 ICJ’s Ruling for Rohingya Why in News? The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has made a ruling on the military excesses on Rohingya in Myanmar against Rohingya Muslims recently. What is the Rohingya crisis? • In 2017, the Myanmar military launched a brutal crackdown on Rohingya villages in the country’s Rakhine state. • An estimated 7.3 lakh Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh since then. • However, Myanmar has firmly denied all allegations of genocide. • It has also denied nearly all allegations made by the Rohingya of mass rape, killings and arson against its army. • Myanmar asserts that the soldiers carried out only legitimate counterterrorism operations. Who has taken Myanmar to the ICJ? • It is the Republic of the Gambia that took Myanmar’s case to the ICJ in November 2019. • Its suit claims that the brutalities by the defence services of Myanmar amounted to crimes of genocide under the 1948 Genocide Convention. • The Gambia is backed by the 57-member Organisation for Islamic Cooperation (OIC). What was the procedure followed at ICJ? • The case was heard by 16 United Nations judges at the ICJ. • Both the Republic of The Gambia and the Myanmar had the opportunity to present themselves before the court. • The hearings were streamed live on the ICJ website.
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What was the recent ruling? • The ICJ ruling on the prevention of alleged acts of genocide against Rohingya Muslims has finally pinned legal responsibility on Myanmar’s government for the military’s large-scale excesses of 2017. • The ICJ has stipulated Ms. Suu Kyi’s civilian government to submit an update of the steps it has taken to preserve evidence of the systemic brutalities within 4 months. • It has also been asked to furnish 6-monthly reports thereafter, until the conclusion of the case, which relates to genocide accusations. • It has further emphasised that an estimated 600,000 Rohingya resident in Myanmar still remained highly vulnerable to attacks from the security forces. • The ruling vindicates the findings by the UN and human rights groups. • Their findings are that there was prevalence of hate speech, mass atrocities of rape and extra-judicial killings, and torching of villages in Rakhine province that forced migration of Rohingyas to Bangladesh. What is Ms. Suu Kyi’s argument? • Arguing the defence in person during the three-day public hearings, Ms. Suu Kyi, who was elected in 2016, insisted that the 2017 violence was proportionate to the threat of insurgency. • She even questioned the Gambia’s standing to bring the suit, saying that there was no bilateral dispute. What is Myanmar’s response? • Rejecting the ICJ’s ruling, Myanmar’s Foreign Ministry has accused rights groups of presenting the Court with a distorted picture of the prevailing situation. • In a statement, it defended the army’s action as a legitimate response to violations of the law by the insurgent Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army. • However, the above claim is at odds with the findings of an Independent Commission of Enquiry established by the government. • The Commission acknowledged that war crimes had been committed during the military campaign, when about 900 people were killed. • But there was nothing to back the assertions of gang-rape, or evidence to presume any intent of genocide, it held. • Although it could take years before the court pronounces the final verdict in the genocide case, this injunction is an important victory for the refugees languishing in Bangladeshi camps.
G.S PAPER III
7. ECONOMY
7.1 NCLAT’s Order - Reinstating Cyrus Mistry Why in news? The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) reinstated Cyrus Mistry as Chairman of Tata Sons and Director of the Tata Group of companies for the remainder of his tenure. Who is Cyrus Mistry? • Cyrus Mistry, son of Pallonji Mistry, is the owner of Shapoorji Pallonji group and the biggest stakeholder in the Tata group. • Mistry was the sixth chairman of Tata Sons and had taken over in 2012 after Ratan Tata. • Relations were seen as amicable between Mistry and Tata. • However, after differences of opinions with group patriarch Ratan Tata, Mistry was ousted as both Chairman and Director in October 2016.
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• This was done in a surprise move by the Tata Sons board. • Mistry later moved the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT). • The Mumbai bench had upheld Mistry’s removal from his positions at Tata Sons and other Group companies. NCLAT What is NCLAT’s decision? • The NCLAT was constituted under Section • The appellate tribunal, NCLAT held Mistry’s sacking and 410 of The Companies Act, 2013. the subsequent appointment of N Chandrasekaran to the • It was tasked to hear appeals against the top post at Tata Sons illegal. orders of the NCLT(s). • It is also the appellate tribunal for orders • The move to take Tata Sons private has also been passed by - declared illegal and reversed. 1. the NCLT(s) under Section 61 of the • NCLAT set aside the 2017 order by the Mumbai bench of Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code the NCLT. (IBC), 2016, 2. the Insolvency and Bankruptcy • The current NCLAT order included directions on several Board of India (IBBI) under major questions of corporate governance. Sections 202 and 211 of the IBC • Article 75 of the Articles of Association of the Tata Group grants Tata Sons the right to transfer the ‘ordinary shares’ of any shareholder. • This can be done bypassing a special resolution in the presence of nominated directors of Tata Trusts. • The NCLAT has barred Tata Sons from taking any action against Mistry, Shapoorji Pallonji, Cyrus Investments, and other minority shareholders under this provision. • It also directed Tata Sons to consult all its minority shareholders before making any appointments in the future. • These include for the post of Executive Chairman, Independent Director, and Director on the boards of Group companies. How will it benefit? • The NCLAT direction will empower the minority shareholders. • Also, it will force Independent Directors to take their objections more seriously. • One of the functions of Independent Directors is to safeguard the interests of all stakeholders, particularly the minority shareholders. • The Code for Independent Directors, which is part of The Companies Act, 2013, specifies this. • The directive will also give a boost to the Shapoorji Pallonji Group, which is owned by the Mistry’s family. • The group, although a minority shareholder (18%), is still the biggest outside shareholder in Tata Sons, the holding company of the Tata Group. What next? • Although the NCLAT passed an order restoring Mistry to the top position, the execution of the order has been suspended for 4 weeks. • This will allow the Tata Group to challenge the NCLAT decision before the Supreme Court. • However, barring the direction to reinstate Mistry, the NCLAT has not stayed the execution of any of its other directions. • This means Mistry will be immediately restored to his position as Director on the boards of at least three Tata Group companies. What are the likely implications? • The NCLAT decision will undoubtedly cause ripples of uncertainty through the Tata empire and the broader corporate sector. • The decision will be implemented after 4 weeks, giving time to the Tata group to contest it. However, the charges are serious:
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i. oppression of minority shareholders (the Shapoorji Pallonji group is one of them) ii. mismanagement at Tata Sons iii. undue haste in removal of Mr Mistry as chairman • If the NCLAT judgment is upheld by an appropriate forum, several critical decisions taken by the new management will come up for scrutiny.
7.2 NSO Advance Estimates Why in news? The National Statistical Office (NSO) recently released the first advance estimates of the national income for 2019-20. What are the highlights? National Statistical Office • NSO projected growth in India’s GDP at market prices for 2019-20 at 4.98% in “real” terms. • The National Statistical Office (NSO) forms • This is the lowest since the 3.89% in the global financial the Statistics Wing of the Ministry of crisis year of 2008-09. Statistics and Programme Implementation. • It consists of the Central Statistical Office • More significantly, the estimated growth in “nominal” (CSO), the Computer center and the terms was 7.53%. National Sample Survey Office (NSSO). • This is the lowest since the 7.35% for 1975-76. • It is responsible for conduct of large-scale sample surveys in diverse fields on All India • Also, this is the first time since 2002-03 that nominal basis. GDP growth has been in single digits. What are nominal GDP and real GDP? • GDP is the total market value of all goods and services produced in the economy during a particular year. • This is inclusive of all taxes and subsidies on products. • The market value taken at current prices is the nominal GDP. • The value taken at constant prices (prices for all products taken at an unchanged base year) is the real GDP. • In simple terms, real GDP is nominal GDP without the effect of inflation. • Real GDP growth thus measures how much the production of goods and services in the economy has increased in actual physical terms during a year. • On the other hand, nominal GDP growth measures the increase in incomes resulting from rise in both production and prices. What does this imply? • In the normal course, real growth is what is ordinarily looked at. • But, the current fiscal year seems extraordinary because the gap between nominal and real GDP growth is just 2.6 percentage points. • This is marginally higher than the difference of 2.5 percentage points in 2015-16. • But in that year, real GDP growth was 8%, which translated into a nominal growth of 10.5%. • In 2019-20, the real GDP growth is expected to be the lowest in 11 years. • Also, the implied inflation is just 2.6%. • [It is also called GDP deflator, or the increase in prices of all the goods and services produced in the economy.] • In simple terms, producers have not gained from either higher output or higher prices. What are the concerns? • In the 2019-20 Budget, Finance Minister had assumed nominal GDP would grow by 12% to Rs 211.01 lakh crore. • However, the NSO’s latest projection of nominal GDP for 2019-20 is only Rs 204.42 lakh crore.
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• So, even if the Centre’s fiscal deficit is contained at the budgeted numbers, it would be 3.44% of GDP, as against the originally targeted 3.3%. • This is over and above the slippages in the absolute fiscal deficit itself due to the Centre’s revenues turning out to be lower than the Budget projections. • High nominal GDP growth also makes the government’s debt seem more manageable, unlike with low nominal GDP. • The debt stock (numerator) can keep going up so long as it does not exceed the nominal increase in GDP (denominator). • This equation changes in a low nominal GDP growth scenario. • For state governments too, low nominal GDP growth is a matter of concern. • This is because their budgets normally assume double-digit increases in revenues. • The Centre’s compensation formula to states from the GST also promised to meet any annual revenue shortfall below 14%. • That again, did not ever factor in the possibility of GDP growth (real GDP plus inflation) falling to 7.5% levels.
7.3 Air India Disinvestment Why in News? The government has tweaked the terms of sale of Air India, and is now putting 100% of its equity in the airline on the block. Will the new terms attract investors? • The government is hopeful of attracting investors with the new sale criteria coupled with the main benefits of the airline. • New sale criteria - The low-cost arm Air India Express and a 50% stake in ground handling firm Air India- SATS are up for sale. • The government relaxed the minimum net worth criteria for potential bidders to Rs 3,500 crore from the Rs 5,000 crore in 2018. • Benefits - The prime slots in capacity-constrained airports across the world, wide-bodied aircraft, and a 50.64% market share in international traffic among Indian carriers. • Any potential investor is expected to look at the size of the airline’s operations with reference to what those operations generate. • The combined amount of debt and liabilities are at least Rs 32,058 crore. • Therefore, in addition to valuing the airline and placing a bid for its equity, the new investor will need to invest in turning the airline around. What will the new investor get? • Air India's slots and landing rights it holds at global airports could be helpful both to airlines looking to expand into international operations. • Air India operates to 56 Indian cities and 42 international destinations. • Several of Air India’s routes are profit-generating, while a number of them are loss-making or witness low load factors. • While the airline comes with 121 aircraft primed as domestic and international workhorses, 18 of them are grounded for lack of funds to make them airworthy. How will consumers be impacted? • If Air India is taken over by a private entity or consortium, the first move could be pruning of operations to ensure profitability to the airline. • This could cause Air India to cease operations on certain loss-making domestic and international routes — leading to a rise in fares.
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• Cutting certain routes could also impact consumers in terms of the unique offerings by Air India. How will employees be impacted? • Air India’s bloated staff strength was flagged by potential investors in the last disinvestment attempt. • The airline has 9,617 are permanent staff, 36% of the permanent staff will retire in the next 5 years. • Whether the employees will be retained by the new investor is unclear. • The government is expected to provide more clarity on conditions for retaining staff in the request-for- proposal stage, which will come after expressions of interest are received. Will the airline be finally sold? • Despite the strong political will to privatise the airline, the government has received opposition even from within. • Employee unions have always opposed stake sale. • However, the government has held extensive meetings with the unions, and tried to identify specific issues raised by them. • A lot also depends on the global politico-economic scenario that enables bidders to show interest in acquiring the loss-making airline. • If this second attempt too fails, the government will have no choice but to take a piecemeal approach at divesting the national carrier.
8. INFRASTRUCTURE
8.1 Unified Ministry for Energy Sector What is the issue? A single unified ministry for the energy sector is necessary to ensure energy security, sustainability and accessibility. How is the energy sector currently managed? • Five different ministries along with a multitude of regulators govern India’s energy sector. • Petroleum and natural gas, coal, renewable energy and nuclear energy have separate ministries or departments. • There is the Ministry of Power, along with State-level bodies that regulate electricity distribution companies (DISCOMS). • Moreover, there are different regulators for each type of fuel and energy source. • This makes it cumbersome for businesses operating in the energy sector. • Further, the petroleum and natural gas sector has two regulators: i. Directorate General of Hydrocarbons for upstream activities ii. Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board for downstream activities What are the constraints in data management? • No single agency collects energy data in a wholesome and integrated manner. • Data pertaining to consumption are barely available. • There are also shortcomings in the supply side data collected by agencies of respective ministries. • The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation collates data available from various ministries. • It also conducts surveys at sporadic intervals. How is the governance model? • On the energy efficiency front, the Bureau of Energy Efficiency is the sole statutory authority.
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• Its mandate is to regulate energy efficiency on the consumption side. • There is no agency or body for the same purpose on the supply side. • This stands in stark contrast to most other nations with their varied energy governance models. • Developed countries such as the U.S., U.K., Germany, and France have their energy sectors administered by a single ministry or department. • There are also instances where the energy ministry is in conjunction with other portfolios such as environment, climate change, mines and industry. • E.g., the U.K. - “Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy”, France - the “Ministry of the Environment, Energy and Marine Affairs” How will a unified ministry help? • A single unified ministry of energy would help India to have an integrated outlook on energy. • This would enable India optimise the limited resources to meet the goals of energy security, sustainability and accessibility. • A single energy ministry would also allow for a quicker policy response. What are the recommendations in place? • The Kelkar Committee has highlighted the issue in its report “Roadmap for Reduction in Import Dependency in the Hydrocarbon Sector by 2030” (2013). • It says that presence of multiple ministries and agencies present challenges of coordination and optimal resource utilization. • These drawbacks undermine the efforts to increase energy security in India. • In the Draft National Energy Policy (NEP), the NITI Aayog has advocated that a Unified Ministry of Energy be created. • This is suggested by merging the Ministries of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG), Coal (MoC), New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) and Power (MoP). • The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) has been left out as it has implications beyond the scope of energy, involving national security issues. • The proposed ministry would have 6 agencies under it to handle various aspects of the energy sector. • These are the agencies of Energy Regulatory, Energy Data, Energy Efficiency, Energy Planning and Technical agency, Energy Schemes Implementation and Energy R&D. What are the measures taken? • The present government has already taken some steps towards unifying the governance structure of the energy sector. • It has appointed a single minister for both MNRE and MoP. • Having the same person heading both of these ministries will help resolve issues such as power balancing and transmission infrastructure planning. • The debated issue of non-payment of dues by DISCOMS to the generators might also be resolved with such synergy in administration.
8.2 Restructuring Railways Why in News? • The Cabinet has recently decided to merge all central service cadres of Railways officers into a single service. • It has also approved the trimming of the Railway Board from a nine-member board to a five-member one. What are the decisions taken? • IRMS - All the central service cadres of Railways officers will be merged into a single Indian Railways Management Service (IRMS).
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• Now, any eligible officer could occupy any post, irrespective of training and specialisation, since they all will belong to IRMS. • Board - The five members of the Board, other than a Chairman-cum-CEO, will be the Members Infrastructure, Finance, Rolling Stock, Track, and Operations and Business Development. • The Board will also have independent Members, who will be industry experts with at least 30 years of experience, but in non-executive roles, only attending Board meetings. • The move has led to protests from serving civil servants, prompting the Railway Board to reach out to them to allay their concerns. What is the present system like? • The Indian Railways is governed by a pool of officers, among whom engineers are recruited through the Indian Engineering Service Examination, and civil servants through the Civil Services Examination. • The civil servants are in the Indian Railway Traffic Service (IRTS), Indian Railway Accounts Service (IRAS) and Indian Railway Personnel Service (IRPS). • The engineers are in five technical service cadres: Indian Railway Services of Engineers (IRSE), Mechanical Engineers (IRSME), Electrical Engineers (IRSEE), and Signal Engineers (IRSSE); and the Indian Railway Stores Service (IRSS). Why was the reform needed? • The government wants to end inter-departmental rivalries, which it says have been hindering growth for decades. • Several committees including the Bibek Debroy committee (2015) have noted that “departmentalism” is a major problem in the system. • The Debroy report recommended merging of all services to create two distinct services: Technical and Logistics. • But it did not say how to merge the existing officers. • A separate exam under the Union Public Service Commission is proposed to be instituted in 2021 to induct IRMS officers. Why are officers opposed to the move? • The opposition started with a proposal to merge officers in the eight services to prepare a common seniority list and a general pool of posts. • Those protesting the government’s decision say that the merger is unscientific and against established norms. • They say that the proposal is trying to merge two fundamentally dissimilar entities, with multiple disparities. • The civil servants come from all walks of life after clearing the Civil Services Examination, not like the engineers who usually sit for the Engineering Service examination right after getting a degree. • Various studies have noted that engineers join the Railways around the age of 22-23, while the civil servants join around 26, barring exceptions. • The age difference starts to pinch at the later stages of their careers, when higher-grade posts are fewer. • There are more engineers than civil servants. How pronounced is this skew? • The Railways have legitimised a system wherein an officer with a certain number of years left in service will be considered eligible for general-management higher posts. • The most important of these posts is the General Manager post, who heads zones and production units. • An officer, irrespective of seniority in his batch and acumen, requires at least two years of service left for being eligible for GM. • The civil servants have often found themselves at a disadvantage since they don’t have the required service tenure left.
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• In the fields where the Railways are actually operated, the share of civil servants in junior-to-middle levels is over 40%, but in higher management, it is around 16-17% What will change with the restructure? • In inter-departmental seniority, problems arise when different services compete for posts that are open to all like those of Divisional Railway Managers (DRMs), GMs and the Chairman Railway Board. • If all present cadres are merged and higher departmental posts become open to all, engineers may end up occupying most posts, if not all. • Another aspect is the suitability of jobs. • The move emerges from the belief that while non-technical specialists cannot do technical jobs, technocrats can do both. • The counter-argument is that civil servants in government, by virtue of the screening process and subsequent training, possess acumen and skills that go beyond academic specialisation. How did the Railways get here? • Departmental posts are ring-fenced; promotions happen within each department from officers of that service. • A department needs a constant supply of posts in higher grades to keep promoting its seniors so that the juniors keep getting timely promotions. • In the Railways, this has happened either organically when the government restructured the cadres and created new posts at intervals of several years, or through the execution of projects. • For execution of each project, departments could create temporary “work-charged” posts, funded by the particular project for itself. • Departments would seek more projects since the by-product was more work-charged posts and that meant more promotional avenues for the department’s officers. • In the cadre-restructuring exercise, overseen by the Cabinet and the Cabinet Secretary, work-charged posts have been banned. • But a majority of the “temporary” posts were absorbed in regular cadres.
8.3 Integrated Housing Development Strategy What is the issue? • PURA (Provision of Urban Amenities to Rural Areas) was a policy measure to create a common development platform for rural and urban areas. • Its potential goes beyond mere creation of economic infrastructure, and involves social infrastructure too, in which housing is a significant component. What is PURA? • There are growing disparities of material status in India. • In this regard, PURA is a framework to mitigate the country’s socioeconomic problems. • It works at creating a common development platform for rural and urban areas. • PURA is a scheme that proposes a holistic and accelerated development of compact areas around a potential growth centre in a Gram Panchayat(s). • It is carried out through Public Private Partnership (PPP) framework. • It aims at providing livelihood opportunities and urban amenities to improve the quality of life in rural areas. • PURA’s design goes beyond the mere creation of economic infrastructure and employment opportunities. • It also aims to develop social infrastructure. • To further this objective, access to good housing, including housing amenities, should become a priority.
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What is the current housing scenario? • Housing in rural areas is one sector that has consistently suffered from the lack of meaningful market interventions. • Supply of developed land and financing for housing has been lacking. • Due to incompatibilities in supply and demand, millions of Indians dwell in unsecured housing. • This is largely driven by shortages in the supply of housing and a lack of redevelopment of collapsible or dilapidated units. • Dilapidated units have contributed towards a high level of housing amenities deprivation. • This is because they cannot safely be connected with electricity or solar energy, latrines, and drinking water, due to associated structural risks. How does this reflect in poverty scenario? • India did pursue effective poverty alleviation measures. • But, in effect, the interventions carried out have hardly worked in minimising urban-rural divides. • Officially, the incidence of housing-related poverty is in the order of 25.85 million. • This is roughly 82% in rural areas and 18% in urban areas. • Menial occupation workers and low-income earners have been facing these forms of poverty the most. • The poor housing scenario has resulted in multiple deprivations of: i. 45% of rural families without electricity, biogas and LPG ii. over 69% without household latrines iii. over 82% of families without treated water for drinking at household levels • Thus, the composite deprivation is in the order of over 58%. • However, the regional picture depicts two contrasting scenarios of lower and higher levels, respectively, in 19 and 9 independent States. • The lower range of deprivations is at around 20-52% and higher range at around 60-75%. • These lead to higher rates of internal migration both due to dissatisfaction with housing arrangements and prospect of better housing elsewhere. What do these call for? • India needs an integrated housing development strategy for the rural context to be implemented in “mission mode”. • Most importantly, it requires political will as expressed in party election manifestos. • Development interventions must focus on rural and urban areas with due consideration for new construction and redevelopment of existing, dilapidated units. • There must also be accountability in terms of implementing the mission agenda on a continuous basis, with social audits at multiple levels of governance. • Also, a realistic resource allocation is required given the cost of redevelopment and new housing units besides other development costs. • For these, penetration of the market, including the cooperative sector for the supply of critical inputs such as land and finances, is essential. • Public-private-partnership projects should be encouraged on public or government-owned lands, with fiscal and other incentives. • Landowners should be encouraged to develop incentive-based affordable housing projects. • The people facing housing poverty must be made partners. • Micro finance and self-help groups could also be roped in to this end.
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8.4 102 Lakh Crore Infrastructure Plan Why in News? Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman recently unveiled a plan to push the infrastructure investment adding up to Rs.102 lakh crore over the next 5 years. What is NIP? • Projects in energy, roads, railways and urban infrastructure under the National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP) have been identified by a task force. • About 42% of such identified projects are already under implementation, 19% are under development and 31% are at the conceptual stage. • The NIP task force appears to have gone project-by-project, assessing each for viability and relevance in consultation with the States. • Considering that the NIP will be like a window to the future, a constant review becomes paramount if this is not to degenerate into a mere collation and listing of projects. What this push is a welcomed step? • The government’s push on infrastructure development will enable ease of living, create jobs and increase demand for primary commodities such as cement and steel. • From this perspective, this push to invest in infrastructure is welcome. • Identifying the projects to be put on the pipeline is the easy part. • Implementing and commissioning them will be the more difficult one. What are the hurdles that the NIP task force needs to watch out for? • Financial position - The financing plan assumes that the Centre and the States will fund 39% each while the private sector will chip in with 22% of the outlay. • Going by the present fiscal situation, it will be a challenge for the Centre to raise Rs.39 lakh crore, even if it is over the next 5 years. • The financial position of States is even more perilous. • Steep private investment - The Rs.22 lakh crore expected from private investment also looks steep considering the lack of appetite for fresh investment by the private sector in the last few years. • Given the scale of investment, debt will play an important role and it remains to be seen if banks have gotten over their apprehensions on infrastructure financing as a major part of their bad loans originated there. • States’ cooperation - The cooperation from States becomes very important in implementing infrastructure projects. • The experience on this count has not been very happy till now.
9. AGRICULTURE
9.1 Farm Loan Waiver Why in News? Maharashtra government announced a loan waiver for farmers who had up to Rs 2 lakh in pending loans between April 1, 2015 and March 31, 2019. Why this waiver is in spotlight? • Maharashtra by doing so has became the only state to have offered two consecutive farm loan waivers within two-and-a-half years of each other. • The previous loan waiver was announced by the Devendra Fadnavis government in June 2017.
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• A look at why this loan waiver was considered necessary and how it is different from the earlier one is important. Why banks give loans? • At the start of the cropping cycle, banks extend short term credits to farmers to finance their need of capital for purchase of seeds, etc. Financial institutions usually provide this loan at 7% interest. • Timely repayments allows farmers to get a 3% interest subvention from the central government and a further 2% subvention from the state government, thus effectively reducing the interest rate to just 1%. • This is envisioned to help the farmers access credit at the right time and keep them away from the clutches of money lenders who lend at exorbitant rates. Why defaults occur? • A spate of extreme weather events, like droughts, floods, hailstorms etc, often results in farmers defaulting on their repayment. • As of September 30, 2019 the outstanding crop loan in Maharashtra was more than Rs 1 lakh crore. • Defaulting farmers become ineligible for new capital from the banks and are forced to knock at the door of private money lenders. • To help the farm sector, state governments have time and again announced loan waiver schemes. • Back in 2008-09, the then government at the Centre had announced a loan waiver scheme for the entire country. • States like Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and others have announced similar schemes in the recent past. What is the 2017 waiver? • Faced with an unprecedented farmers’ strike, the Fadnavis-led government had announced a loan waiver scheme in June 2017. • Irrespective of the size of landholding, the scheme waived off outstanding crop loans up to Rs 1.5 lakh per family. • Farmers who made regular repayments got Rs 25,000 as incentive for good credit behaviour. • The scheme waived off loans pending from April 1, 2012 to March 30, 2016 and later, it was extended to include outstanding loans from 2001. • Farmers whose outstanding was more than Rs 1.5 lakh were expected to deposit the additional amount to get the waiver. • Calling for a complete loan waiver, the Opposition described the Fadnavis government’s scheme as a cruel joke on farmers. What is the new scheme? • The new Maharashtra coalition government announced the Mahatma Jyotirao Phule Shetkari Karja Mukti Yojana. • State government sources said this scheme would see Rs 26,000 crore of outstanding loans of over 36 lakh accounts being waived off. • This scheme will see outstanding crop loan up to Rs 2 lakh, pending from April 1, 2015 to March 31, 2019, being waived off. What is the difference between the two waivers? • In the latest scheme, farmers with more than Rs 2 lakh outstanding are not eligible for the scheme. • Also, the scheme has no incentive for farmers who are regular in their repayments. • Farmers’ activists have criticised these two provisions which they say defeats the purpose of loan waiver. • There are talks for extending the scheme later to cover farmers with more than Rs 2 lakh outstanding as well as for farmers who are regular with repayments.
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• A new provision in the present scheme is that families with more than one loan account are eligible for waiver in each one of their accounts. • The last waiver was limited to one account per family. • Also, this time farmers will not have to file online forms to avail their waivers. It had led to major confusion last time.
9.2 Dealing with Onion Price Rise What is the issue? • With huge spike in onion prices, government responded by banning exports, placing import orders and altering stock holding limits of traders. • Resultantly, there is expected to be a glut effect on the price soon. What happened? • In November 2019, retail prices of onion in several places touched Rs 200 a kg. • The central government took several measures such as: i. fixing stock holding limits for the traders ii. ordering onion imports from Turkey and Egypt iii. selling subsidised stored onions through few retail channels • The government had stopped onion exports on September 30, 2019. What is the concern now? • The government’s own assessment says, there is expected to be a glut effect on the onion price by March 2020. • Significant decline in price is expected from February onwards when late kharif and early rabi arrivals start picking up pace. What led to the price rise? • The key cause behind the huge spike in onion prices is the close-to-a-million-tonne reduction in kharif and late-kharif output in Maharashtra. • Maharashtra, notably, produces around one-third of the country’s onion output. • The reduction was because of prolonged monsoon last year resulting in crop damages. • Even Karnataka and Gujarat have witnessed significant rain-related crop damages. • Rajasthan’s Alwar district, which is an onion producing hub, was affected by dry conditions resulting in lower area and yield. • Delayed monsoon (up to first week of November) has had an impact on the output. • Overall kharif and late-kharif output is estimated to have declined by more than 27%. • The rains during September-October also affected transportation of the crop from these regions to consuming areas. • This led to limited availability of kharif onion in the market and put pressure on its prices. What could bring down the prices now? • The forthcoming rabi or winter crop is likely to be much better due to better water availability. • There is also increased sowing by farmers owing to high prevailing prices. • Rabi onion acreage is set to increase by 5% to 10% in key producing states, including Maharashtra. How are onion stocks maintained? • About 30% of the total onion output is during kharif and late kharif season, and the rest is during rabi season. • This ensures onion availability throughout the year.
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• The harvesting of kharif and late-kharif is carried out during November-January. • Rabi crops arrives in the market during January-May. • The rabi crops are stored, which takes care of supplies till the kharif harvests arrive in the market. • The stored rabi onion lasts till kharif crop arrivals in November. • However, even a fortnight of delay creates supply constraints in the market, and leads to a spike in prices. • A decline of 27% in kharif output could not have been replaced with imports from Egypt and Turkey. • Shortfalls - Market structure of onion is unilaterally dictated by the traders, not farmers. • The reason is that farmers play a minimal role in price discovery. • This is due to the low size of average farm holdings (1.15 to 1.3 acres) and unfavourable weather conditions and price risk.
10. SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
10.1 Indian Science Congress - Changing Trend Why in news? The 107th edition of the Indian Science Congress (ISC) was recently held in Bengaluru. What does the ISC aim at? • The formation of the congress pre-dates the Indian republic. • However, it was the intellectual nursery of modern science in the country. • Early ideas of how science and technology could aid the development of the new nation were initiated at this gathering of scientists. • It is for this reason that the congress is inaugurated by the Prime Minister. • It is normally held in the first week of January. What is the change in trend? • The nature of the congress where scientists congregated to exchange scientific ideas has changed. • It is today becoming a ‘science mela’. • The prime purpose of the ISC now is to draw school and science college students to hear Nobel Laureates and Indian-origin scientists from abroad. • It lectures about their work and the future prospects of science. • The other draws are science projects and innovations by schoolchildren and stalls showcasing scientific work being done in key national laboratories and institutions. What is the recent concern? • In recent years, the congress often makes news for becoming a forum for pseudoscience and less for interesting scientific ideas or demonstrations. • Speakers have tended to mix mythology and science and publicise far-fetched assertions. • E.g. the Kauravas were born from stem-cell technology and the Vedas discussed avionics • This has eroded the congress’s public image. • The exhibits at several scientific laboratories too are re-runs from old congresses, or from similar and past science fairs. • Many laboratories showcase their work as ‘posters’ rather than actually showing demonstrations or working inventions.
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• Several top personalities of India’s science establishments who have represented or at least had their organisation present a dedicated talk or session, were absent this year. What should be done? • It is inevitable that traditions change over time and the relative importance accorded to institutions wax and wane. • However, this must make way for inspiring new ideas, or new models of taking science to the public. • A rising trend in science displays, at museums or exhibitions in many places, is to mix science and art. • Making interactive displays that encourage audience engagement is also the trend. • In this light, the Indian Science Congress too needs new ideas, and not a mix of myth and pseudoscience.
10.2 Indian Cobra Genome Decoded Why in News? An international team of researchers have sequenced the genome of the Indian cobra, in the process identifying the genes that define its venom. What is the significance? • This genome sequence can provide a blueprint for developing more effective anti-venom. • The cobra genome sequence is of really high quality. • Sequence information of the genes that code for venom proteins is very important for the production of recombinant anti-venoms. Are existing anti-venoms not effective enough? • Their efficacy varies, besides producing side effects. • In India, the challenge has been producing anti-venom for the species known collectively as the “big four”, 1. The Indian cobra (Naja naja), 2. Common krait (Bungarus caeruleus), 3. Russell’s viper (Daboia russelii), and 4. Saw-scaled viper (Echis carinatus). • Common anti-venom is marketed for the treatment of bites from the “big four”, but its effectiveness came under question in a recent study. • The common anti-venom worked against the saw-scaled viper and the common cobra. • But this anti-venom fell short against some neglected species and also against one of the “big four” - the common krait. • Facts - Accidental contacts with snakes lead to over 100,000 deaths across the world every year. • India alone accounts for about 50,000 deaths annually, and these are primarily attributed to the “big four”. Why has production of effective anti-venom been challenging? • Venom is a complex mixture of an estimated 140-odd protein or peptides. • Only some of these constituents are toxins that cause the physiological symptoms seen after snakebite. • But anti-venom available today does not target these toxins specifically. • Anti-venom is currently produced by a century-old process. • In this process, a small amount of venom is injected into a horse or sheep, which produces antibodies that are then collected and developed into anti-venom. What are the issues with this ‘horse technique’? • This is expensive, cumbersome technique and comes with complications.
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• Some of the antibodies raised from the horse may be completely irrelevant. • The horse also has a lot of antibodies floating in its blood that have nothing to do with the venom toxins. • One more problem with horse antibodies is that our immune system recognises it as foreign and when anti- venom is given our body mounts an antibody response. This leads to what is called serum sickness. How does decoding the genome help? • In the Indian cobra genome, the researchers have identified 19 key toxin genes, the only ones that should matter in snakebite treatment. • They stress the need to leverage this knowledge for creation of safe and effective anti-venom using synthetic human antibodies. • The next step would be obtaining the genomes and the venom gland genes from the other three of the “big four” and the deadly African species. • However, there is a very long way to go from genomes to effective anti-snake venoms.
11. ENVIRONMENT
11.1 India State of Forest Report Why in news? The Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change recently released the biennial “India State of Forest Report (ISFR)” for 2019. What is the ISFR? • The report is published by the Forest Survey of India (FSI). • FSI has been mandated to assess the forest and tree resources of the country including wall-to-wall forest cover mapping in a biennial cycle. • Starting 1987, 16 assessment have been completed so far. ISFR 2019 is the 16th report in the series.
What are the key findings? • Rankings - Area-wise, Madhya Pradesh has the largest forest cover in the country. • This is followed by Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Maharashtra. • In terms of forest cover as percentage of total geographical area, the top 5 States are: 1. Mizoram (85.41%) 2. Arunachal Pradesh (79.63%) 3. Meghalaya (76.33%) 4. Manipur (75.46%) 5. Nagaland (75.31%) • Share - India’s forest cover has increased by 3,976 sq km or 0.56% since 2017. • For the second successive time since 2007, the SFR recorded a gain (an impressive 1,275 sq km) in dense forest. • This includes Very Dense Forest with a canopy density of over 70%, and Moderately Dense Forest with a canopy density of 40- 70%.
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• Around 2,140 sq km of dense forests became non-forests since 2017. • [A dense forest can deteriorate into an open forest (10-40% canopy density) but conversion to non-forest signifies total destruction.] • Since 2017, plantations with high canopy density have added 2,441 sq km to the dense forest category. • On the other hand, 1,858 sq km of non-forests have become dense forests. • These are plantations of fast-growing species since natural forests rarely grow so fast. • Since 2003, close to 18,000 sq km of dense forests have become non-forests in the country. • Nearly half of this (8,552 sq km) were in the last 4 years alone. • While hill forests have gained in quality, large tracts of tropical forests have fallen off the “dense” category since 2017. • The biggest loss is under the tropical semi-evergreen head in SFR 2019 - close to 23,500 sq km. • [In India, tropical semi-evergreen forests are found along the western coast, lower slopes of the eastern Himalayas, Odisha and Andamans.] • Of India’s 7.12 lakh sq km forest cover, 52,000 sq km is plantations. • This means that it cannot substitute natural forests in biodiversity or ecological services. • Of the nearly 7,28,500 sq km recorded forest area, around 2,15,000 sq km (nearly 30%) recorded no forest cover in SFR 2019. • In other words, forestland roughly the combined area of Tamil Nadu and West Bengal holds no forests. • The total mangrove cover in the country is 4,975 sq km. • An increase of 54 sq Km in mangrove cover has been observed as compared to the previous assessment of 2017. • Top three states showing mangrove cover increase are Gujarat (37 sq km) followed by Maharashtra (16 sq km) and Odisha (8 sq km). • The extent of bamboo bearing area of the country has been estimated 16 million hectare. • There is an increase of 0.32 million hectare in bamboo bearing area as compared to ISFR 2017. • Under the current assessment, the total carbon stock in the country’s forest is estimated at around 7,100 million tonnes. • There is an increase of 42.6 million tonnes in the carbon stock of the country as compared to 2017. • The annual increase in the carbon stock is 21.3 million tonnes, which is 78.2 million tonnes CO2 equivalent.
11.2 Balancing between Coal-fired Power and Renewables Why in news? The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy recently proposed ‘reverse bundling’ scheme for balancing between coal- fired power and renewables. What is the bundling scheme? • In 2015, the government had come up with a plan to ‘bundle’ solar energy with the then cheaper coal generation. • The idea was to push sales of renewable power through a market-driven approach. • The ‘bundling’ mechanism soon became obsolete as renewable energy cost started falling dramatically.
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• The cost of electricity using solar photovoltaic fell to $38 per megawatt hour which is 14% lower than cost of coal-fired power in 2019. What is the recent proposal? • A new proposal now seeks to flip the ‘bundling’ scheme by using cheap renewable energy to subsidise costlier coal-fired power. • It aims to ensure uninterrupted round-the-clock electricity. • Under ‘reverse bundling’, “high cost thermal power’’ is bundled with cheaper renewable energy to overcome the ‘intermittent-ness’ of green power. • The draft policy stipulates supply of 51% renewable energy with or without energy storage bundled with 49% thermal power component. What is the concern with the cost? • The tariff for this bundled electricity could work out to be much higher instead of a simple average of cheap renewables and costlier coal supply. • This is because renewable energy can only be supplied for 6-8 hours. • On the other hand, battery storage plus thermal plants will cover power supply for the remaining 18-14 hours in a day. • The cost of battery storage, although falling rapidly, could raise power tariff when supplying for several hours together. • The high charge for a fixed amount of standby thermal power capacity needed for bundling will further add to the combined tariff. What are the other concerns? • Coal power generators in the country are evading deadlines year after year to retrofit their plants with emission controlling systems. • Given this, using renewable energy to lower tariff of polluting power counters the climate objectives. • Also, if thermal power is bundled with renewable energy without storage, the coal-fired capacity will have to be ramped up and down throughout the day. • Otherwise, it has to be shut for a part of the day depending on renewable generation. • This may not benefit the coal-fired projects due to inefficient operation. • The capacity utilisation factor (CUF) of a solar project is only 20%. • If 80% power is supplied from thermal capacity, the mechanism is still workable because the coal-fired plants will be utilised to a larger extent. • Instead, necessitating renewables to form a 51% share of supply will make bundled power tariff expensive. • The inability of power distribution companies (discoms) to buy enough electricity due to their poor financial health is at the centre of the tussle between renewables and coal-fired power. • Simultaneously, coal thermal capacity utilisation has constantly been falling throughout the year. • Reverse bundled power will thus have to face the test of being attractive to discoms, which cannot be forced to buy it.
11.3 Bushfire Why in news? Australia is witnessing an unprecedented catastrophic fire season that began in August 2019, with large-scale destruction, mainly in New South Wales (NSW) and Queensland. What is the impact? • Fire is no stranger to the dry continent’s woodlands. (Click here to know more on bushfires in Australia)
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• But, the fires this time has devastated over 10 million hectares of land, killing at least 25 people and tens of millions of animals. • Besides this, it has forced the evacuation of entire communities. • Kangaroos were burnt in their tracks as they tried to flee, and koalas desperately escaped the fire. What is the government’s response? • The government of Prime Minister Scott Morrison is struggling to pacify the angry citizens. • Citizens are calling for a reconsideration of the country’s relationship with fossil fuels. • The government has, however, sought to downplay the impact of changing climate. What is the significance with the current fires? • Bushfires are routine in Australia, but authorities are calling this season the worst on record. • Australia is hot, dry, prone to droughts, and, in some parts of the country, to bushfires. • Such fires happen when grass, branches, and trees start to burn in an uncontrolled manner. • In New South Wales and Queensland, the risk of bushfires peaks during the spring and early summer. • This year, the fires started in August 2019, much before the Southern Hemisphere summer (December to February). • These have been aggravated by an impending drought and record high temperatures. • This summer, Australia has witnessed its worst drought in more than 5 decades, and temperatures went above 41°C. • Scientists have said that the conditions demonstrate the effects of climate change. What is the impending threat? • Warnings have been sounded by scientists that even with a global average temperature rise of 1°C, the raging fires have engulfed an area the size of Switzerland. • The world is set to warm at least half a degree more in the coming decades. • Given this, Australia’s encounters with devastating fires could become more frequent. • It could happen perhaps even once in 8 years, making large parts of the continent uninhabitable. • The situation is bound to worsen without policy change, as temperatures are predicted to soar to 50°C. • Over the past half century, the number of hot days and very hot days each year has steadily increased. • It would be tragic if this scientific insight is ignored. What are the contributory factors? • The coal industry has a sway over politics in Australia that is disproportionate to its share of economic production. • One-third of global coal exports come from Australia, accounting for 7% of global carbon emissions. • The country is the largest exporter of coal and liquefied natural gas in the world.
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• The energy sector is an important employer there. • Prime Minister Morrison’s conservative government has defended the country’s coal industry despite criticisms. • Australia has also invited scorn for counting carbon credits under the Kyoto Protocol instead of making new reductions to meet its emissions targets. • The mining industry has caused worries about greenhouse gas emissions increasing in Australia, and in countries to which it exports the fuel. • The official Climate Commission too was shut down by the government 6 years ago. • Credentialed specialists at the country’s Climate Council have thus had to crowd-source funds to continue their work. • Today, they are raising the alarm over the lowest ever rainfall recorded in parts of NSW and Queensland. • These and high peak temperatures are producing challenging situations across the large Murray-Darling Basin.
11.4 Camel Culling in Australia Why in news? Australia began a five-day cull of up to 10,000 camels, using sniper fire from helicopters. What is the move? • The exercise is taking place in Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (called APY Lands) in South Australia state. • The animals there will be killed according to the “highest standards of animal welfare”. • The animals are to be killed away from communities. • Their carcasses will be burnt, unless they fall in remote and inaccessible locations. How did camels find presence in Australia? • Camels in Australia were first brought to the continent in the late 19th century from India. • It was the time when Australia’s massive interior region was first being discovered. • Over 20,000 were imported from India between the 1840s and the 1900s. • Australia is now believed to have the largest population of wild camels in the world - over 10 lakh, which is rapidly growing. Why is the decision now to kill them? • The APY Lands is located in Australia’s southeast and home to about 2,300 Aboriginal Australians. • In the past, the inhabitants used to gather the camels and sell them. • But, the recent drought spell has caused an unmanageable number of animals to turn up. • The herds roam in the country’s inland deserts, and are considered a pest, as they foul water sources and trample native flora. • Unless their breeding is controlled, the camel population doubles every 9 years. • The animals also have a massive carbon footprint, each camel emitting methane equivalent to one tonne of carbondioxide a year. • The year 2019 was the driest and hottest on record in Australia. • A catastrophic bushfire season, that began months before usual, has left many dead. • It has also burned over 1.5 crore acres of land, killing an estimated 100 crore animals. • The acute drought has pushed massive herds of feral or wild camels towards remote towns looking for water. • This has endangered the indigenous communities.
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• Some camels have died of thirst or trampled each other as they rushed to find water. • The camels have been threatening scarce reserves of food and water. • Besides, they have been damaging infrastructure and creating a hazard for drivers. • Some in the APY Lands are now demanding legislation that would allow them to legally cull the animals, which could help offset greenhouse emissions.
11.5 State of Climate of India in 2019 Why in News? The State of Climate of India Report was released by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) recently. What does the report say? • The Statement on Climate of India in 2019 confirms that the extreme weather events have become par for the course in the country. • This is what climate scientists have been claiming for more than half a decade. • It notes that excessive heat, cold and rainfall killed 1,562 people in 2019. • In 2019, the mean temperature was 0.36 above normal while the country also recorded excess rainfall during both the southwest and northeast monsoons. • Intense dry spells were interspersed with floods in several parts of the country. • This is a phenomenon that policymakers will increasingly be called to factor while drawing up projects in areas as diverse as agriculture, urban planning, water resources and disaster management. How the report should be seen? • The IMD report should be seen in conjunction with long-term meteorological trends. • The World Meteorological Organisation, for example, reckons that the decade starting 2011 remains on track to be the warmest on record. • At the same time, data from the European Centre for Medium Range Forecast shows that the relative humidity in the mid-troposphere in the Subcontinent has increased by about 2% in the past four decades. • Such warming has increased the capacity of oceans to form intense cyclonic disturbances. What are the observed vagaries? • In 2019, as the IMD report notes, the Indian Ocean witnessed eight cyclones. • By that very fact, cyclones don’t kill but buildings can turn hazardous during such extreme weather events. • The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs does have guidelines for climate-friendly construction. • But planners in coastal cities and towns rarely pay heed to its provisions. • Kerala, southern Karnataka and Gujarat were heavily deficient till July 2019. • But in the last week of July, these states recorded surplus rainfall. • For farmers, such vagaries mean disruptions in the entire cropping cycle. What is needed? • Increasing their resilience calls for efficient rainwater storage and use. • The changing dynamics of weather also demand cooperation between states that share a river basin. • This year, Maharashtra and Karnataka debated over opening the gates of the Almatti dam on the Krishna. • By the time the two states agreed over the amount of water to be discharged from the dam, the damage was already done. • It’s clear that dealing with exceptional weather will require interventions at the national, state and local-levels. • The Statement on Climate of India 2019 drives home the urgency of such interventions.
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12. INTERNAL SECURITY
12.1 Role of Chief of Defence Staff What is the issue? • General Bipin Rawat took over as the first Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), a post created in the Defence Ministry. Click here to know more. • In this backdrop, here is a look at the roles and powers of the Chief of Defence Staff. Why is the CDS said to have a ‘dual-hatted role’? • The dual-hatted role refers to the two hats the CDS wears: 1. the permanent Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee which has the three service chiefs as members 2. the head of the newly created Department of Military Affairs (DMA) in the Defence ministry • The former is a military role while the latter is a role in the government. • It is as the head of DMA that his major responsibilities within the ministry will be discharged. • The CDS has the status of a Cabinet Secretary, but functionally will head a department headed by a Secretary. • Also, he will be under a ministry where the Defence Secretary is in charge of the ministry. What will the arrangement in the ministry be? • The ministry already had four departments: 1. Department of Defence 2. Department of Defence Production 3. Department of Defence Research and Development 4. Department of Ex-servicemen Welfare • Each of them is headed by a Secretary. • The Department of Defence is the nerve centre of the ministry. • It looks after all issues pertaining to the armed forces, defence policy and procurement. • The charter of duties of the DMA was so far looked after by the Department of Defence. • It was headed by the Defence Secretary who is also the secretary in-charge of the Defence Ministry. • Work exclusively pertaining to military matters will now fall within the purview of the DMA. • On the other hand, the Department of Defence will deal with larger issues pertaining to defence of the country. • E.g., tri-service military training institutions will fall under the DMA, and organisations like IDSA and NDC will fall under the Defence Department • Armed forces - The armed forces (Army, Navy and Air Force) are not departments of the ministry. • The service headquarters, and thereby the armed forces, are attached offices in the ministry. • They used to come under the Department of Defence so far, but will now fall under the ambit of DMA. • They will have an appropriate mix of civilian and military officers at every level. • Attached offices are generally responsible for providing executive direction for implementation of policies laid down by the department to which they are attached. • They also serve as a repository of technical information. • They advise the department on technical aspects of questions they deal with.
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What will be the CDS’s role in military? • The CDS will neither command the three service chiefs nor be the single-point military adviser to the government. • The CDS will act as the Principal Military Adviser to the Defence Minister only on tri-services matters. • The three service chiefs will continue to advise the Defence Minister, as done so far, on matters exclusively concerning their respective services. • The government has also made it explicitly clear that the CDS will not exercise any military command, including over the three service chiefs. • But, the service chiefs will be members of the Chiefs of Staff Committee, which will be headed by the CDS. • [Earlier, the Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee was the senior-most chief among the three services by rotation.] • However, none of the other powers of the service chiefs, including of advising the government, has been curtailed or transferred. • Nevertheless, the DMA, headed by the CDS, will also have the armed forces under its ambit. • If promotions, postings and disciplinary matters of three services fall under the DMA, it will give the CDS extensive influence over the 3 service chiefs. • Despite these, technically, the Department of Defence (headed by the Defence Secretary) will be responsible for the defence of India and every part thereof. What is the task ahead for the CDS? • The CDS has been given a time-bound task, to be done within 3 years. • This is to bring about jointness in operations, logistics, transport, training, support services, communications, and repairs and maintenance of the three services. • As the head of the DMA, the CDS also has to facilitate restructuring of military commands for optimal utilisation of resources. • This will be achieved by bringing about jointness in operations, including through establishment of joint/theatre commands.
PRELIM BITS
13. HISTORY AND ART & CULTURE
Savitribai Phule • Savitribai Phule, was a social reformer, an educationist and a poetess, and regarded as ‘mother of Indian feminism’. • Phule, along with her husband Jyotirao Phule, dedicated her life to the cause of women’s rights and education. • She is an important figure in the social reform movement, particularly in the state of Maharashtra. • Education of all women is what she focused on, despite facing ostracism from her community for it. • Along with her husband, she opened the very first school for girls in India. • Phule would also give stipends to children, so as to encourage them to attend schools and complete their education. • She also campaigned against the caste system in the country and advocate of inter-caste marriages. • Along with Jyotirao Phule she founded the Satyashodhak Samaj which, it is believed, organised marriages without priests and dowry.
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Yashagana • Yakshagana is a rare and unique traditional theatre of Karnataka state in India and has a recorded history of more than 5 centuries. • It is a rich artistic blend of music, dance, speech, and costumes, this art combines the features of opera as well as drama, the characteristics of moral education and mass entertainment. • Yakshagana is strongly influenced by the Bhakti movement. • Recently, the Yakshagana committee (Non-Government Organization) hosted the 60th annual Yakshagana in the Padmanur village, Karnataka. • The committee is officially known as the Sarvajanika Yakshagana Bayalata Samithi and was set up in 1959. • It is a multi-faith committee consisting of Hindus, Christians and Muslims and it hosts Yakshagana every year.
Lai Haraoba • Lai Haraoba, a ritualistic festival observed by Manipuri meitei communities since ancient times. • Lai Haraoba is celebrated through oral literature, music, dance and rituals., to please the Umang Lai, the traditional deities of Sanamahism. • It is one of the main festivals still performed in Manipur which has its roots in the pre-Vaishnavite period. • Lai Haraoba is the earliest form of dance which forms the basis of all stylised dances in Manipur. • The principal performers are the maibas and maibis (priests and priestesses) who re-enact the theme of the creation of the world. • It is usually observed during the month of Kalen tha (summer season). • Four types of Lai Haraoba are prevalent in the Meitei society, namely: 1. Kanglei Haraoba, 2. Chakpa Haraoba, 3. Moirang Haraoba and 4. Kakching Haraoba.
Patola Saree • Patola, the trademark Saree of Gujarat, is considered to be very costly and worn only by the Royals or the Aristocrat. • Reason being the raw material silk yarn is purchased from Karnataka or West Bengal, where silk processing units are situated, thus increasing the cost of the fabric manifolds. • It can take six months to one year to make one sari due to the long process of dying each strand separately before weaving them together. • Patola was woven in Surat, Ahmedabad and Patan. • Highly valued in Indonesia, became part of the local weaving tradition there. • Recently under initiative of Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC), a first Silk Processing Plant was inaugurated at Surendranagar in Gujarat. • This would help cut down the cost of production of silk yarn drastically and increase the sale and availability of raw material for Gujarati Patola Sarees locally.
Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) • The Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) is a statutory body formed by the Government of India, under the Act of Parliament, 'Khadi and Village Industries Commission Act of 1956'.
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• It is an apex organization under the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, with regard to khadi and village industries within India. • It seeks to - "plan, promote, facilitate, organize and assist in the establishment and development of khadi and village industries in the rural areas in coordination with other agencies engaged in rural development wherever necessary
Pink City Jaipur • India gets its 38th world UNESCO World heritage site As Pink City Jaipur • The World Heritage Committee took the decision at the UNESCO’s 43rd session at Baku, Azerbaijan. • Jaipur celebrated for its grid plan based architecture and buildings of pink façades. • Features of Jaipur are Architecture of streets with colonnades, which intersect the center, creating large public squares called chaupar. • The uniform façades of markets, residences and temples in the main streets had also impressed the council. • The Kachwaha Rajput ruler of Amber, Sawai Jai Singh II, founded the fortified city in 1727. • The city was established on the plains and built according to a grid plan interpreted in the light of Vedic architecture. • The city’s urban planning shows an intermingling of ideas from ancient Hindu, modern Mughal and western cultures.
Markandeshwar Temple • Restoration work of architectural genius, Markandeshwar temple in Maharashtra was initiated by Archaeological Survey of India • The Markandeshwar group of temples were built between the 9th and 12th centuries . • Dedicated to Lord Shiva called Markandeshwar or Markandadeo temple on the banks of the Wainganga river. • They are famously known as the ‘mini Khajuraho’ or ‘Khajuraho of Vidarbha’. • They belong to saiva, vaishnava and sakti faith, these belong to the Nagara group temples of North India.
Gurudwara Nankana Sahib • Nankana Sahib is a city in Pakistan’s Punjab province, where Gurdwara Janam Asthan (also called Nankana Sahib Gurdwara) is located. • The shrine is built over the site where Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, was believed to be born in 1469. • It is 75 kms to the west of Lahore, and is the capital of Nankana Sahib district. • The city was previously known as Talwandi, and was founded by Rai Bhoi, a wealthy landlord. • Besides Gurdwara Janam Asthan, Nankana Sahib has several important shrines in memory of Guru Arjan (5th Guru) and Guru Hargobind (6th Guru). • The Janam Asthan shrine was constructed by Maharaja Ranjit Singh, after he visited Nankana Sahib in 1818- 19 while returning from the Battle of Multan. • During British rule, the Gurdwara Janam Asthan was the site of a violent episode when in 1921, over 130 Akali Sikhs were killed after they were attacked by the Mahant of the shrine. • The incident is regarded as one of the key milestones in the Gurdwara Reform Movement, which led to the passing of the Sikh Gurdwara Act in 1925 that ended the Mahant control of Gurdwaras. • In 2014, Pakistan had a memorial for the massacre built. • Until Independence, Nankana Sahib’s population had an almost equal number of Muslims, Sikhs,and Hindus, which since Partition has been predominantly Muslim.
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Visakha Utsav • Visakha Utsav is a tourism event every year conducted by the Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation and Visakhapatnam Metropolitan Region Development Authority at Visakhapatnam.
Nagardhan Excavations • Archaeological excavations at Nagardhan, near Nagpur, have provided concrete evidence on the life, religious affiliations and trade practices of the Vakataka dynasty. • It also gives clarity on Vakataka rule under Queen Prabhavatigupta. • Oval-shaped sealing - has been traced, which belongs to the period when Prabhavatigupta was the queen of the Vakataka dynasty. • It bears her name in the Brahmi script, along with the depiction of a conch. • The presence of the conch is a sign of the Vaishnava affiliation that the Guptas held. • Since the Vakataka people traded with Iran and beyond through the Mediterranean Sea, these sealings could have been used as an official royal permission issued from the capital city. • Besides, these were used on documents that sought mandatory royal permissions. • Copper plate - Issued by Queen Prabhavatigupta has also been found. • It starts with a genealogy of the Guptas, mentioning the Queen’s grandfather Samudragupta and her father Chandragupta II.
Queen Prabhavatigupta • The Vakataka rulers were known to have forged several matrimonial alliances with other dynasties of their times. • One of the key alliances was with Prabhavatigupta of the mighty Gupta dynasty, which was then ruling north India. • After marrying Vakataka king Rudrasena II, Prabhavatigupta enjoyed the position of Chief Queen. • Scholars say Queen Prabhavatigupta was among a handful of women rulers in India to have reigned over any kingdom during ancient times. • Also, there had been no evidence so far of any successor female ruler within the Vakataka dynasty. • She ruled for about 10 years until her son Pravarasena II, and had a pivotal role in propagation of Vaishnava practices in the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra.
Vakataka dynasty • The Vakataka Empire originated from the Deccan in the mid-3rd century CE, with Nagardhan as capital. • Vindhyashakti (c. 250 – c. 270 CE) is known to be the founder of the family. • The elephant god was a commonly worshipped deity in those times. • Animal rearing was one of the main occupations. Remains of seven species of domestic animals — cattle, goat, sheep, pig, cat, horse and fowl — have been traced. • Their state is believed to have extended from the southern edges of Malwa and Gujarat in the north to the Tungabhadra River in the south as well as from the Arabian Sea in the west to the edges of Chhattisgarh in the east. • They were the most important successors of the Satavahanas in the Deccan and contemporaneous with the Guptas in northern India. • The Vakataka dynasty was a Brahmin dynasty and rulers were pre-dominantly shaivites. • The Gupta emperor Chandragupta II married his daughter into Vakataka royal family and with their support annexed Gujarat from the Saka Satraps in 4th century CE.
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• The Vakataka power was followed by that of the Chalukyas of Badami in Deccan. • The rock-cut Buddhist viharas and chaityas of Ajanta Caves (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) were built under the patronage of Vakataka emperor, Harishena.
Madhavpur Mela • Madhavpur Ghed, in Porbandar district a small but culturally significant village. • It is the place where, according to folklore, Lord Krishna married Rukmini, the daughter of King Bhishmaka. • Madhavpur lies on the seashore, close to Porbandar, a 15th century Madhavrai temple marks the site. • The annual fair Madhavpur Mela is held here will commence a day after the Ram Navami festival. • A colourful chariot carrying the idol of Lord Krishna circumnavigates the village and the festivities usually continue for five days. • Madhavpur Mela will mark the cultural integration of Gujarat with the North-East under the Ek Bharat, Shrestha Bharat. • The eight States of the Northern Eastern Region will participate in a big way during the Madhavpur Mela. • The week-long ‘Utsav’ will see a vibrant cultural trail of art, dance, music, poetry, story-telling and folk drama from Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and other North-Eastern States with the aim to integrate the rich cultures of the two regions.
Bhakta Ramadasu • Kancharla Gopanna (c. 1620 – 1680), popularly known as Bhakta Ramadasu, was a 17th-century Indian devotee of Lord Rama and a composer of Carnatic music. • He lived in the village of Nelakondapalli, near the town of Bhadrachalam, • His contemporaries include the stalwarts of Telugu literature such as Tallapaka Annamayya, Tyagaraja, Kshetrayya, and Shyama Sastri. • In 17th century he constructed Sri Sitaramachandra Swamy temple in Bhadrachalam. • His devotional lyrics to Rama are famous in South Indian classical music as Ramadaasu Keertanalu. • He also wrote Dasarathi Shatakamu, a collection of nearly 108 poems dedicated to the son of Dasaratha (Lord Rama).
Gandhi an Anthropologist • Anthropological Survey of India (AnSI) has published a journal “Gandhian insights into applied anthropology”. • The journal was published as part of the commemoration of Gandhi’s 150th birth anniversary. • The journal had 10 essays dedicated to Gandhian thoughts from the perspective of anthropology. • According the the journal Gandhi’s writings, teaching and life so far has been the subject of interest of historians and political scientists but a closer look will point out that Gandhi and his life has been centered in anthropology. • Coast Guard Ship 'Annie Besant' • The recently inducted Indian Coast Guard Ship Annie Besant has reached its base harbour at Chennai. • The ship Annie Besant is the third Fast Patrol Vessel of the ‘Priyadarshini’ class. • The ship has been indigenously designed and built and was commissioned at Khidderpore Dock, Kolkata. • The ship ICGS Annie Besant is fitted with modern navigational and communication equipment and sensors. • It is capable of undertaking multi-faceted maritime operations such as Surveillance, Search and Rescue and Interdiction.
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Seke Language • Nepalese language Seke is reported to be “near-extinct” which has only 700 speakers around the world. • According to the Endangered Language Alliance (ELA), Seke is one of the over 100 indigenous languages of Nepal and is mainly spoken in the five villages of Chuksang, Chaile, Gyakar, Tangbe and Tetang in the Upper Mustang district. • The dialects from these villages differ substantially and are believed to have varying degrees of mutual intelligibility. • In recent years, Seke has been retreating in the face of Nepali, which is Nepal’s official language and is considered to be crucial for getting educational and employment opportunities outside villages. • According to ELA, difficult conditions at home and job prospects elsewhere have brought speakers of Seke to places such as Pokhara, Kathmandu and even New York. • Therefore, the vulnerability of the language is linked to the migration of people to places where Seke is not spoken, which has reduced the intergenerational transmission of the language. • Furthermore, the younger generation does not find much use in learning the language, giving preference to Nepali and English.
14. GEOGRAPHY
Yarrabubba Crater • The Yarrabubba crater is an asteroid impact structure, the eroded remnant of a former impact crater, situated in the Mid West Western Australia. • It as an precise age of 2.229 billion years, it is the oldest known impact structure on Earth. • According to recent study, Australia’s Yarrabubba asteroid impact crater is oldest on earth and it may have been responsible for ending an ice age. • Other older asteroid crater are the Vredefort Dome in South Africa (2.023 billion years old) and Canada’s Sudbury Basin (1.850 billion years old). • These are the only other precisely dated Precambrian impact structures that are currently known. • Originally stretching roughly 70 km wide, the Yarrabubba resisted reliable estimates of its age because of erosion and plate tectonics. • It is now an elliptical structure with a diameter of approximately 20 km. • NASA scientists sought to assign the crater an exact age by studying concentrations of uranium, thorium, and lead in rocks collected from the crater. • The team submerged the rocks in water, exposed them to electricity, and searched the grains for zircon and monazite. • That newly determined age coincides with “a dynamic time in the evolution of Earth following the transition from the Archaean to the Proterozoic eon.
Geological time scale • The geologic time scale (GTS) is a system of chronological dating that relates geological strata (stratigraphy) to time. • It is used by geologists, paleontologists, and other Earth scientists to describe the timing and relationships of events that have occurred during Earth's history. • The International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS) sets the nomenclature of geologic time spans. • Few classification of geological time scale are as follows 1. Age - is millions of years long
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2. Epoch - contains more than one age 3. Period - contains more than one epoch 4. Era - contains more than one period 5. Eon - contains more than one era and is the longest division. • The current eon is (Phanerozoic) for 542 million years. • The previous eon (Proterozoic) lasted about two billion years; an eon does not correspond to a particular duration.
Belum Caves • The Belum Caves are located near Belum Village in Kurnool District in the state of Andhra Pradesh. • Belum is part of a larger complex of caves carved out of the limestone deposits in the Erramalai region. • The Belum Caves is the largest and longest cave system open to the public on the Indian subcontinent, known for its speleothems, such as stalactite and stalagmite formations. • This cave system was formed over the course of tens of thousands of years by the constant flow of underground water from the now-disappeared river Chitravathi. • It is the second largest caves on the Indian Subcontinent after the Krem Liat Prah caves in Meghalaya. • It is one of the centrally protected Monuments of National Importance. • Belum Caves are geologically and historically important caves, There are indications that Jains and Buddhists monks occupied these caves centuries ago. • Many Buddhists relics were found inside the caves, These relics are now housed in Museum at Ananthapur. • Archaeological survey of India (ASI) also found remnants of vessels of the pre-Buddhism era and dated the remnants of these objects to 4500 years BCE. • The Belum Caves festival is also known as Kandanavolu Sambaralu, It is being organized to popularize the Belum caves.
Hydrothermal vents • The Earth has about 65,000 km of underwater mountain ranges called the mid-ocean ridges. • Like mountains on land, these ridges represent ‘weak’ spots, where it is easy for the semi-solid material from the mantle of the Earth to escape to the surface. • This ‘escape’ is sometimes in the form of volcanoes. • The mid-ocean ridges are also known for their volcanic activity — several islands in the Pacific ocean were formed by the molten rock spewed by them. • But often, stuff from under the Earth’s crust also escapes through ‘vents’ in the mountains. • The discovery of such hydrothermal vent systems in the deep oceanic ridges has generated a lot of interest, mainly because of the material spewed can contain valuable metals such as copper, zinc, gold, silver, platinum and palladium. • Apart from their economic potential, sea-floor hydrothermal vents are characterised by dense biological communities,” More than 700 species have been reported.
Indian Ocean Dipole • The Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD), also known as the Indian Niño, is an irregular oscillation of sea-surface temperatures in which the western Indian Ocean becomes alternately warmer (positive phase) and then colder (negative phase) than the eastern part of the ocean. • The IOD involves an aperiodic oscillation of sea-surface temperatures (SST), between "positive", "neutral" and "negative" phases.
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• A positive phase sees greater-than-average sea-surface temperatures and greater precipitation in the western Indian Ocean region with a corresponding cooling of waters in the eastern Indian Ocean—which tends to cause droughts in adjacent land areas of Indonesia and Australia. • The negative phase of the IOD brings about the opposite conditions, with warmer water and greater precipitation in the eastern Indian Ocean, and cooler and drier conditions in the west. • The IOD also affects the strength of monsoons over the Indian subcontinent. • The IOD is one aspect of the general cycle of global climate, interacting with similar phenomena like the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) in the Pacific Ocean.
Madden Julian Oscillation • The Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO) is the major fluctuation in tropical weather on weekly to monthly timescales. • The MJO can be characterized as an eastward moving 'pulse' of cloud and rainfall near the equator that typically recurs every 30 to 60 days. • Because of this pattern, the Madden–Julian oscillation is also known as the 30- to 60-day oscillation, 30- to 60-day wave, or intra-seasonal oscillation. • The Madden–Julian oscillation is characterized by an eastward progression of large regions of both enhanced and suppressed tropical rainfall, observed mainly over the Indian and Pacific Ocean. • The anomalous rainfall is usually first evident over the western Indian Ocean, and remains evident as it propagates over the very warm ocean waters of the western and central tropical Pacific. • This pattern of tropical rainfall generally becomes nondescript as it moves over the primarily cooler ocean waters of the eastern Pacific, but reappears when passing over the warmer waters over the Pacific Coast of Central America. • The pattern may also occasionally reappear at low amplitude over the tropical Atlantic and higher amplitude over the Indian Ocean. • The wet phase of enhanced convection and precipitation is followed by a dry phase where thunderstorm activity is suppressed.
Sambhar Salt Lake • The Sambhar Salt Lake, India's largest inland salt lake is located southwest of Jaipur, Rajasthan. • Sambhar Salt is the source of most of Rajasthan's salt production; It produces 196,000 tons of clean salt every year. • Sambhar has been designated as a Ramsar site (recognized wetland of international importance). • The specialized algae and bacteria growing in the lake provide striking watercolors and support the lake ecology that, in turn, sustains the migrating waterfowl.
Chilika Lake • Chilika Lake is the largest brackish water (mixture of saline and fresh water) lagoon of India, spread over the Puri, Khurda and Ganjam districts of Odisha State on the east coast of India. • It is the largest coastal lagoon in India, located at the mouth of the Daya River, which is flowing into the Bay of Bengal, covering an area of over 1,100 km. • It is designated as ‘wetland of international importance under the Ramsar convention. • Before Cyclone Fani hit the Odisha coast, Chilika lake had only two active mouths - the point where it meets the sea. • But after Fani Cyclone four new mouths have opened due to wave energy with high tidal prism. • With the opening of new mouths, a lot of sea water is entering Chilika Lake and, thereby increasing salinity of Chilika lagoon, Increasing salinity may alter Chilika’s ecosystem.
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• Generally, if sea water ingression goes up, fish migration will increase and the biodiversity will get richer. • However, its long term impact needs a proper vigil.
15. POLITY
GST Council Voting • The GST Council is a federal body that aims to bring together states and the Centre on a common platform for the nationwide rollout of the indirect tax reform. • The rules of voting in the GST Council are such that the odds are stacked in favour of the Centre in the normal course. • However, in case of a vote, any disagreements within the ruling coalition at the Centre may bring its support below the three-fourths majority that is needed for the passage of a decision. • So far 37 GST council meeting has followed consensus-based decisions for the first time the 38th council voted. • As per The Constitution (One Hundred and First Amendment) Act, 2016, in case of a voting, every decision of the GST Council has to be taken by a majority of not less than three-fourths of the weighted votes of the members present. • The vote of the central government has a weightage of one-third of the total votes cast, and the votes of all the state governments taken together have a weightage of two-thirds of the total votes cast in that meeting.
Article 131 • Kerala became the first state to challenge the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) before the Supreme Court. However, the legal route adopted by the state is different from the 60 petitions already pending before the court. • The Kerala government has moved the apex court under Article 131 of the Constitution, the provision under which the Supreme Court has original jurisdiction to deal with any dispute between the Centre and a state; the Centre and a state on the one side and another state on the other side; and two or more states. • Under article 131Supreme Court has three kinds of jurisdictions: original, appellate and advisory. • Under its advisory jurisdiction, the President has the power to seek an opinion from the apex court under Article 143 of the Constitution. • Under its appellate jurisdiction, the Supreme Court hears appeals from lower courts. • In its extraordinary original jurisdiction, the Supreme Court has exclusive power to adjudicate upon disputes involving elections of the President and the Vice President, those that involve states and the Centre, and cases involving the violation of fundamental rights. • For a dispute to qualify as a dispute under Article 131, it has to necessarily be between states and the Centre, and must involve a question of law or fact on which the existence of a legal right of the state or the Centre depends. • In a 1978 judgment, State of Karnataka v Union of India, Justice P N Bhagwati had said that for the Supreme Court to accept a suit under Article 131, the state need not show that its legal right is violated, but only that the dispute involves a legal question. • Article 131 cannot be used to settle political differences between state and central governments headed by different parties. • The other petitions challenging the CAA have been filed under Article 32 of the Constitution, which gives the court the power to issue writs when fundamental rights are violated. • A state government cannot move the court under this provision because only people and citizens can claim fundamental rights. • Under Article 131, the challenge is made when the rights and power of a state or the Centre are in question.
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• However, the relief that the state (under Article 131) and petitioners under Article 32 have sought in the challenge to the CAA is the same — declaration of the law as being unconstitutional.
Bodoland Territorial Area • Bodoland, officially the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC), is an autonomous region in the state of Assam, India. • It made up of four districts on the north bank of the Brahmaputra river, by the foothills of Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh. • The four districts in Assam — Kokrajhar, Baksa, Udalguri and Chirang — that constitute the Bodo Territorial Area District (BTAD), are home to several ethnic groups. • It is administered by the Bodoland Territorial Council, which covers over eight thousand square kilometres. • The territory came into existence under the BTC Accord in February 2003. • The region is predominantly inhabited by the indigenous Bodo people and other indigenous communities of Assam. • Bodos are the single largest tribal community in Assam, making up over 5-6 per cent of the state’s population. • The Bodos have had a long history of separatist demands, marked by armed struggle.
Bodo Accord • Union government has signed a comprehensive Bodo Settlement Agreement to end the over 50 year old Bodo Crisis • The agreement is signed between Government of India, Government of Assam and Bodo representatives. • The current agreement proposes to set up a commission under Section 14 of the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution of India, which will recommend the inclusion or exclusion of tribal population residing in villages adjoining BTAD areas. • In this commission, besides State government there will be representatives from ABSU and BTC. • It will submit its recommendation within six months from the date of notification • The Government of Assam will establish a Bodo-Kachari Welfare Council as per existing procedure. • The Assam government will also notify Bodo language as an associate official language in the state and will set up a separate directorate for Bodo medium schools. • The present settlement has proposal to give more legislative, executive, administrative and financial powers to BTC. • A Special Development Package Rs. 1500 crores over three years will be given by the Union Government to undertake specific projects for the development of Bodo areas.
Bru-Reang Agreement • The Bru or Reang are a community indigenous to Northeast India, living mostly in Tripura, Mizoram, and Assam. • In Tripura, they are recognised as a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG). • Over two decades ago, a few ethnic social organizations of Mizoram who demanded that the Bru be excluded from electoral rolls in the state. • In October 1997, following ethnic clashes, nearly 37,000 Bru fled Mizoram’s Mamit, Kolasib, and Lunglei districts to Tripura, where they were sheltered in relief camps. • Since then, over 5,000 have returned to Mizoram in nine phases of repatriation, while 32,000 people from 5,400 families still live in six relief camps in North Tripura. • Apart from their own Kaubru tongue, the Bru speak both Kokborok and Bangla, the two most widely spoken languages of the tribal and non-tribal communities of Tripura, and have an easy connection with the state.
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• The Bru-Reang is a tripartite agreement is signed between the Government of India, Governments of Tripura and Mizoram and Bru-Reang representatives in New Delhi on 17 January, 2020.
The agreement mentions the following 1. About 34,000 Bru refugees will be settled in Tripura. 2. Centre will provide help to these tribes for their all-round development and for this around Rs 600 crores were sanctioned. 3. Ech displaced family would be given 40X30 sq.ft. residential plots. 4. For 2 years, they will be given the aid of Rs 5000 per month. 5. Free ration for 2 years 6. About Rs 1.5 lakh aid to build their house. 7. The Tripura Government would provide the land.
Anticipatory Bail • ‘Bail’ is a document procuring “the release of a person from legal custody, by undertaking that he shall appear at the time and place designated and submit himself to the jurisdiction and judgement of the court.” • As opposed to ordinary bail, which is granted to a person who is under arrest, in anticipatory bail, a person is directed to be released on bail even before arrest made. • According to Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, “When any person has reason to believe that he may be arrested on an accusation of having committed a non-bailable offence, he may apply to the High Court or the Court of Session for a direction under this section and, if the court thinks fit, direct that in the event of such arrest, he shall be released on bail.” • The provision empowers only the Sessions Court and High Court to grant anticipatory bail. • Anticipatory bail became part of the new CrPC in 1973 (when the latter replaced the older Code of 1898), after the 41st Law Commission Report of 1969 recommended the inclusion of the provision. • While granting anticipatory bail, the Sessions Court or High Court can impose the following conditions 1. A condition that the person shall make himself available for interrogation by a police officer as and when required; 2. A condition that the person shall not, directly or indirectly, make any inducement, threat or promise to any person acquainted with the facts of the case so as to dissuade him from disclosing such facts to the Court or to any police officer. 3. A condition that the person shall not leave India without the previous permission of the Court. 4. In addition, such other condition as may be imposed under sub-section (3) of section 437, as if the bail were granted under that section. • Recently Supreme Court ruled that no time restriction should ordinarily be fixed for anticipatory bail and that it can continue even until the end of the trial.
Scientific Social Responsibility • Union government is planning to implement scientific social responsibility (SSR) policy. • Under the programme, researchers who are working on a science project funded by any of the Ministries under the Central government will have to undertake activities to popularize science and make it more accessible to the public. • List of activities would be taken up under the Scientific Social Responsibility programme that was similar to Corporate Social Responsibility. • This could range from going to colleges delivering lectures, writing an article in a magazine or doing something beyond the curriculum. • The science outreach would be mandatory and researchers had to include this as part of their outcome report.
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• It will be implemented this year after a consultation meeting with all stakeholders.
Commission on Other Backward Classes • The Commission of Sub-categorization of Other Backward Classes was constituted under article 340 of the Constitution with the approval of President on 2nd October, 2017/ • The Commission, headed by Justice (Retd.) Smt. G. Rohini commenced functioning on 11th October, 2017. • Since then it has interacted with all the Stats/UTs which have subcategorized OBCs, and the State Backward Classes Commissions. • The Commission has come to the view that it would require some more time to submit, its report since the repetitions, ambiguities, inconsistencies and errors of spelling or transcription etc appearing in the existing Central List of OBCs need to be cleared. • Hence the Commission has sought extension of its term by six, that is upto 31st July 2020 and also addition in its existing Terms of Reference, recently union cabinet approved the extension. • The Cabinet has also approved addition of following Term of Reference to the existing Terms of Reference of the "Commission" - • The Commission is likely to make recommendations for benefit of marginalized communities in the Central List of OBCs. • The expenditure involved are related to the establishment and administration costs of the Commission, which would continue to be borne by the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment.
National Startup Advisory Council • Union government has notified the structure of the National Startup Advisory Council. • It will be chaired by commerce and industry minister, the council will do the following • Suggest measures to foster a culture of innovation amongst citizens and students in particular. • Promote innovation in all sectors of economy across the country. • Support creative and innovative ideas through incubation. • Create an environment of absorption of innovation in industry. • The council will facilitate public organizations to assimilate innovation with a view to improving public service delivery, promote creation, protection and commercialization of intellectual property rights, and make it easier to start, operate, grow and exit businesses by reducing regulatory compliances and costs. • The council will also suggest measures to “promote ease of access to capital for startups, incentivize domestic capital for investments into startups, and mobilize global capital for investments in Indian startups. • India ranks 136 on ‘starting a business’ in the World Bank’s ease of doing business table against an overall rank of 63. • Some of the measures in the works are also expected to tackle this.
Reciprocating Territory • Ministry of Law and Justice recently declared United Arab Emirates as a “reciprocating territory” under Section 44A of the Civil Procedure Code, 1908. • Through the status the orders passed by certain designated courts from a ‘reciprocating territory’ can be implemented in India, by filing a copy of the Verdict or judgement concerned in a District Court here. • The courts so designated are called ‘superior Courts’. • The notification also declared a list of courts in the UAE to be “superior Courts” under the same section. • Section 44A, titled “Execution of decrees passed by Courts in reciprocating territory”, provides the law on the subject of execution of decrees of Courts in India by foreign Courts and vice versa.
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• Under Explanation 1 of S. 44A - “Reciprocating territory” means any country or territory outside India which the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, declare to be a reciprocating territory for the purposes of this section; and “superior Courts”, with reference to any such territory, means such Courts as may be specified in the said notification.” • S.44A (1) provides that a decree passed by “a superior Court” in any “reciprocating territory” can be executed in India by filing a certified copy of the decree in a District Court, which will treat the decree as if it has been passed by itself. • According to Explanation-2, the scope of the Section is restricted to decrees for payment of money, not being sums payable “in respect of taxes or other charges of a like nature or in respect of a fine or other penalty”. • It also cannot be based on an arbitration award, even if such an award is enforceable as a decree or judgment. • Apart from UAE, the other countries declared “reciprocating territories” are United Kingdom, Singapore, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Trinidad & Tobago, New Zealand, the Cook Islands (including Niue) and the Trust Territories of Western Samoa, Hong Kong, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, and Aden. • Through the decision, Indian expatriates in the UAE would no longer be able to seek safe haven in their home country if they are convicted in a civil case in the UAE.
National Data and Analytics Platform (NDAP) • NITI Aayog has released vision plan for the National Data and Analytics Platform (NDAP). • The platform aims to democratize access to publicly available government data. • The NDAP proposes a simple, interactive, visual, and robust platform that will host various Central and state government datasets. • It will host the latest datasets from various government websites, present them coherently, and provide tools for analytics and visualization. • NDAP will cater to a wide audience of policymakers, researchers, innovators, data scientists, journalists and citizens. • An inter-ministerial committee will oversee the progress of the development of platform, which will take place over a period of one year. • The first version of the platform is expected to be launched in 2021. • The process will follow a user-centric approach, and will incorporate feedback received from various users and stakeholders throughout the course of its development.
National Informatics Centre • National Informatics Centre (NIC) is an attached office under Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Government of India. • National Informatics Centre (NIC) as a premier technology advisor and ICT solution provider to Government at all levels. • NIC provides infrastructure to help support delivery of Government IT services and delivery of some of the initiatives of Digital India. • Earlier, NIC has also established NICNET or National Knowledge Network (NKN).
Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Block chain Technology • Recently NIC has set up the Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Blockchain Technology in Bengaluru, Karnataka. • New and previously unforeseen applications of Blockchain in the Government are expected to enhance transparency, traceability and trust in e-governance systems. • The Centre of Excellence will facilitate the Government Departments in building proof of concepts for use of Block chain technology in different dimensions of governance leading to large-scale deployment of some such applications.
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Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Center (I4C) • Union Ministry of Home Affairs has inaugurated the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C). • This state-of-the-art Centre is located in New Delhi. • The I4C will deal with all types of cybercrimes in a comprehensive and coordinated manner. • It has seven components viz., 1. National Cyber Crime Threat Analytics Unit, 2. National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal, 3. National Cyber Crime Training Centre, 4. Cyber Crime Ecosystem Management Unit, 5. National Cyber Crime Research and Innovation Centre, 6. National Cyber Crime Forensic Laboratory Ecosystem. 7. Platform for Joint Cyber Crime Investigation Team. • At the initiative of Union Ministry for Home Affairs (MHA), 15 States and UTs have given their consent to set up Regional Cyber Crime Coordination Centres at respective States/UTs.
National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal • NCCRP (www.cybercrime.gov.in) is a citizen-centric initiative that will enable citizens to report cybercrimes online through the portal. • All the cybercrime related complaints will be accessed by the concerned law enforcement agencies in the States and Union Territories for taking action as per law. • This portal enables filing of all cybercrimes with specific focus on crimes against women, children, particularly child pornography, child sex abuse material, online content pertaining to rapes/gang rapes, etc. • So far, more than 700 police districts and more than 3,900 police stations have been connected with this Portal. • After successful completion, this portal can improve the capacity of the law enforcement agencies to investigate the cases and will improve success in prosecution. • This portal also focuses on specific crimes like financial crime and social media related crimes like stalking, cyber bullying, etc. • This portal will improve coordination amongst the law enforcement agencies of different States, districts and police stations for dealing with cybercrimes in a coordinated and effective manner.
NEST • The external affairs ministry has announced the setting up of New, Emerging and Strategic Technologies (NEST) division. • NEST will act as the nodal division within the ministry for issues pertaining to new and emerging technologies. • It will help in collaboration with foreign partners in the field of 5G and artificial intelligence. • Its mandate shall include, but not be limited to, evolving India’s external technology policy in coordination with domestic stakeholders and in line with India’s developmental priorities and national security goals. • It will also help assess foreign policy and international legal implications of new and emerging technologies and technology-based resources, and recommend appropriate foreign policy choice. • NEST will negotiate technology governance rules, standards and architecture, suited to India’s conditions, in multilateral and plurilaterals frameworks. • It will also undertake creation of HR capacity within the ministry for technology diplomacy work by utilizing the existing talent-pool and facilitating functional specialization of Foreign Service officers in various technology domains.
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16. GOVERNMENT INITIATIVES
Youth Co:Lab • Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) NITI Aayog and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) hosts it. • It aims at fostering technology, promoting youth leadership and social entrepreneurship in India. • Co-created in 2017 by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Citi Foundation, Youth Co:Lab aims to establish a common agenda for Asia-Pacific countries to invest in and empower youth to accelerate implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through leadership, social innovation and entrepreneurship. • By developing 21st century skills, catalyzing and sustaining youth-led start-ups and social enterprises across the region, Youth Co:Lab is positioning young people front and center in order to solve the region’s most pressing challenges. e-BCAS Project • It is a training module project launched by the Ministry of Civil Aviation. • It facilitates external stakeholders to access Biometric enabled Centralised Access Control System (CACS) for training in digital platforms. • All 29 Aviation Security Training Institutes have been registered as User Entities for this project. • It envisaged to achieve a “paperless office” under e-Governance initiative. • Standing Committee on Economic Statistics • The statistics ministry has constituted a 28 member Standing Committee on Statistics (SCES) chaired by former Chief Statistician Pronab Sen. • It is to improve quality of data amid criticism of the government over political interference. • The first meeting of the SCES is scheduled on January 6, 2020. • The committee is set up in the backdrop of controversy over revision of GDP numbers and withholding employment data by the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO). • Earlier, Ministry of Statistics had decided not to release the Consumer Expenditure Survey results of 2017-18 citing data quality issues.
University for Transgender Community • The country's first university for transgender community will be opened in Uttar Pradesh's Kushinagar district. • It is being built by All-India transgender education service trust. • It facilitate its members to study right from class one to PG and even do research and get PhD degree.
Indian science congress • The Indian Science Congress Association (ISCA) owes its origin to the foresight and initiative of two British Chemists, namely, Professor J. L. Simonsen and Professor P.S. MacMahon. • The first meeting of the Congress was held from January 15-17, 1914 at the premises of the Asiatic Society, Calcutta. • 107th Indian Science Congress is scheduled to take place between January 3-7, at the University of Agricultural Sciences (UAS) in Bengaluru, Karnataka. • “Science & Technology: Rural Development” is the theme for the congress. • Indian Science Congress is a major focal point for scientists, researchers and academicians interested in various aspects of scientific discoveries and technologies.
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Women Science Congress • The 9th Women Science Congress (WSC) is organized as part of the Indian Science Congress (ISC) at the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore. • The event highlighted opportunities that can help women overcome the hurdles they face because of their gender in the pursuit of Science. • Indian Science Congress Association is a premier scientific organisation of India with headquarters at Kolkata, West Bengal. • The association started in the year 1914 in Kolkata and it meets annually in the first week of January. • The first meeting of the Congress was held in January 1914 at the premises of the Asiatic Society, Calcutta.
Education Related Initiatives of HRD Ministry
EQUIP • Education Quality Upgradation and Inclusion Programme (EQUIP) Five-year vision plan of HRD Ministry. • It sets out to deliver further on principles of Access, Inclusion, Quality, Excellence and enhancing employability in Higher Education. • EQUIP is a vision plan aiming at ushering transformation in India’s higher education system by implementing strategic interventions in the sector over five years (2019-2024). • EQUIP has been prepared based on reports of Ten expert groups constituted to deliberate upon important aspects of Higher Education. • Currently EQUIP has been submitted for in principal approval of Expenditure Finance Committee.
Institution of Eminence (IoE) • The regulatory infrastructure for the Institutes of Eminence (IoE) plan was provided by the University Grants Commission (UGC). • Under this initiative 10 institutions in public sector and 10 institutions in private sector have to be declared as IoE. • Each Public institute (IoE) will be eligible to receive Rs. 1000 crore during next 5 years. • 10 Public Institutions are IISc Bangalore, IIT Delhi, IIT Bombay, IIT Madras, IIT Kharagpur, University of Hyderabad, Banaras Hindu University, University of Delhi, Jadavpur University & Anna University. • 10 Private institutions are BITS Pilani, MAHE Karnataka, Jio Institute, Amrita Vishwavidyapeetham, Tamil Nadu , Vellore Institute of Technology, Tamil Nadu, Jamia Hamdard, New Delhi, Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology, Odisha, O.P. Jindal Global University, Haryana, Bharti Institute, Satya Bharti Foundation, Mohali, Shiv Nadar University, Uttar Pradesh.
SRATS • Scheme for Transformational and Advanced Research in Sciences is to be implemented, monitored and managed by IISc, Bangalore. • It will be providing extra mural funding to faculty of HE institutions for research projects in basic sciences.
Higher Education Financing Agency • Higher Education Financing Agency (HEFA) is a joint venture of MHRD Government of India and Canara Bank for financing creation of capital assets in premier educational institutions in India. • It aims to expand the scope of covering school education, educational institutes under Ministry of health etc. • HEFA is registered under Section 8, Not-for-profit under the Companies Act 2013 as a Union Govt company and as Non–deposit taking NBFC (NBFC-ND-Type II) with RBI.
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• HEFA finances for HEIs, Kendra vidyalayas, Navodaya vidyalaya, AIIMS and other educational institutions of the Ministry of Health.
Impactful Policy Research in Social Science (IMPRESS) • It aims to support the social science research in the higher educational institutions and to enable research to guide policy making.
SWAYAM • It aims to offer Online Degree Programmes through SWAYAM by Top Ranking Universities. • SWAYAM aims to access to Quality education ,Increase GER in Higher Education from 26 to 30 in next 5 years and Anyone, Anywhere, Anytime learning.
SWAYAM PRABHA- DTH Educational Channels • Project for telecasting high quality educational programs through 32 DTH channels on 24x7 basis to reach out to student/learners of India with wide reach and minimal cost. • It aims to support those students who do not have good learning options like lack of teacher or internet etc. • It also aims to provide dedicated channels ‘IITPAL’ to assist the students of 11 and 12 standards aspiring to join premier educational institutions in the country. • SWAYAM Prabha project is managed by Chief Coordinator from IIT Madras.
SHREYAS • Scheme for Higher Education Youth in Apprenticeship and Skills (SHREYAS) was launched for providing industry apprenticeship opportunities to the general graduates exiting in April 2019 through the National Apprenticeship Promotional Scheme (NAPS). • The program aims to enhance the employability of Indian youth by providing ‘on the job work exposure’ and earning of stipend.
ASEAN Fellowship • It was launched by MHRD & MEA. • It offers 1000 fellowships to the students of ASEAN countries for pursuing integrated Ph.D programmes in IITs.
National Educational Alliance for Technology (NEAT) • National Education Alliance of Technologies (NEAT) is a PPP Model between MHRD and EdTech companies • It aims to offer Adaptive and personalized learning through Artificial Intelligence (AI) to the students with specific emphasis on students from economically and socially backward regions.
Young Scientists Laboratories • Union government has launched 5 Young Scientists Laboratories of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). • DRDO Young Scientist Laboratories (DYSLs) are located in five cities viz, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata and Hyderabad. • It aims to empower the youth by giving them decision making powers and challenging research opportunities. • Each lab will work on key advanced technology of importance to the development of futuristic defence systems viz, 1. Artificial intelligence,
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2. Quantum technologies, 3. Cognitive technologies, 4. Asymmetric technologies 5. Smart materials. • It can be noted that N Chandrasekaran Committee was constituted by the Ministry of Defence in 2018 to study the use and application of artificial intelligence (AI) in the military.
GATI Portal • Recently Union Road Transport and Highways Ministry launched online web portal ‘GATI’ on the pattern of ‘PRAGATI’, the portal. • GATI Portal has been created by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). • The portal ‘GATI’ can be accessed from NHAI’s website, and contractors and concessionaires can raise any project-related issues on the platform. • The issues raised on ‘GATI’ will be daily monitored by a team of NHAI officers and will be constantly reviewed by the senior officers of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.
Bharat Parv 2020 • The Bharat Parv is an annual event to celebrate the spirit of India, organized in Red Fort, Delhi. • Bharat Parv, 2020 is being celebrated from 26th to 31st January, annually, in front of Red Fort at Gyan Path and Red Fort grounds • Central theme of Bharat Parv 2020 is ‘Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat’ and ‘Celebrating 150 Years of Mahatma Gandhi’ • The objective of Bharat Parv is to encourage Indians to visit different tourism places of India and to inculcate the spirit of ‘Dekho Apna Desh’.
Tribal Youth Exchange Programme • Tribal Youth Exchange Programme is organized by the Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS) of Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. • The programme aims at providing an opportunity to tribal youth to visit different places to understand the culture, language, lifestyles, educational avenues, development activities and educational opportunities. • During the visit, the participants will interact with the local communities and youth, affiliated with the NYKS Youth Clubs to develop cultural ties.
Mahatma Gandhi Convention Centre • India recently opens First Mahatma Gandhi Convention Centre in Niger, a West African Nation. • The convention center has been designed as a spacious, modern and eco-friendly facility, including a 2,000 capacity Plenary Hall, to witness high-level and wide-ranging participation from African Union (AU) member states and other high-level conventions. • It is the first center to be established in Africa by India to honor the memory of Mahatma Gandhi whose 150th birth anniversary was observed in 2019.
Integrated Steel Hub • Ministry of steel in partnership with CII and JPC is organizing the launch of Purvodaya-Accelerated Development of Eastern Region through an Integrated Steel hub. • The proposed Integrated Steel Hub, encompassing Odisha, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal and Northern Andhra Pradesh, would serve as a torchbearer for socio-economic growth of Eastern India.
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• The objective of this hub would be to enable swift capacity addition and improve overall competitiveness of steel producers in terms of both cost and quality. • In addition to increased steel capacity, this hub would also help enhance best-in- class value addition capabilities. • The Integrated Steel Hub would focus on 3 key elements: • Capacity addition through easing the setup of greenfield steel plants • Development of steel clusters near integrated steel plants as well as demand centres • Transformation of logistics and utilities infrastructure which would change the socio-economic landscape in the East • These elements would be supported through additional enablers such as ensured availability of raw materials, presence of supporting industries such as capital goods and well-established avenues for skill development. • 12 major steel zones identified in the region are 1. Kalinganagar - Odisha 2. Angul – Odisha 3. Rourkela – Odisha 4. Jharsuguda – Odisha 5. Nagarnar – Chhattisgarh 6. Bhilai – Chhattisgarh 7. Raipur – Chhattisgarh 8. Jamshedpur – Jharkhand 9. Bokaro – Jharkhand 10. Durgapur- West Bengal 11. Kolkata – West Bengal 12. Vizag – Andhra Pradesh. • These include major rail, road and port capacity expansion projects to debottleneck existing capacity and create world-class multimodal logistics infrastructure across these zones
MANI App • Reserve Bank of India, RBI has launched a mobile app, MANI, Mobile Aided Note Identifier. • It aims to help visually challenged people to identify denomination of currency notes. • Through the downloaded app, users can scan the notes using the camera. • The audio output will give the result in Hindi and English. • The mobile application does not authenticate a note as being either genuine or counterfeit.
17. GOVERNMENT SCHEMES
SERVICE Scheme • SERVICE is a scheme of Steel Authority of India (SAIL) to promote Voluntary Philanthropist Activities by its employees. • Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas & Steel launched it. • The scheme called “SAIL Employee Rendering Voluntarism and Initiatives for Community Engagement (SERVICE)”.
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• The dedicated interactive “SAIL SERVICE” portal for implementation of this Scheme shall act as a platform for enabling faster interaction and communication amongst the various stakeholders.
KIRAN Scheme • KIRAN (Knowledge Involvement in Research Advancement through Nurturing) is the women-exclusive scheme of DST (Department of Science and Technology). • Its mandate is to bring gender parity in S&T through gender mainstreaming. • Different programs and components of KIRAN like Women Scientist Scheme-A (WOS-A), Women Scientist Scheme-B (WOS-B) deal with various crucial issues like Break in career primarily due to family responsibilities, Self-employment, Part time career, Relocation etc. faced by women scientists in their career path.
Review of Education schemes of Ministry of HRD in 2019 • Pradhan Mantri Innovative Learning Program (DHRUV) - To identify and encourage talented children to enrich their skills and knowledge. • NISHTHA – National Initiative for School Heads and Teachers’ Holistic Advancement to improve learning outcomes at the elementary level through an Integrated Teacher Training Programme. • Education Quality Upgradation and Inclusion Programme (EQUIP) - Five year vision plan to transform Indian Higher education environment. • SWAYAM 2.0 - SWAYAM seeks to bridge the digital divide for students who have hitherto remained untouched by the digital revolution and have not been able to join the mainstream of the knowledge economy. • Deeksharambh - It is a guide to Student Induction Programme which is prepared by University Grants Commission (UGC). • PARAMARSH - To mentor National Accreditation and Assessment Council (NAAC) accreditation aspirant institutions for promoting quality assurance in higher education. • Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat (EBSB) - Aims to actively enhance interaction between people of diverse cultures living in different States • Shagun - World’s largest Integrated Online junction for School Education. • Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+) - To ensure quality, credibility and timely availability of information from all the schools in the country. • The GIS based mapping portal gives information about location of more than 15 lakh schools in the country along with some salient highlights. • Digital Infrastructure for Knowledge Sharing (DIKSHA) – To provide digital platform to teachers giving them an opportunity to learn and train themselves and connect with teacher community. • Mid-Day Meal (MDM) - The National Programme of Mid-Day Meal in Schools is Centrally-Sponsored Scheme. • It covers all school children studying in Classes I-VIII of Government, Government-Aided, Special Training Centers including Madrasas and Maqtabs. • School Nutrition Gardens (SNG) - A guideline on School Nutrition Gardens has been issued to all states and UTs. • It is a place where herbs, fruits and vegetables are grown in the school premises for use in preparation of Mid- Day Meal. • Kala Utsav - Initiative of the Department of School Education & Literacy to recognize the importance of aesthetics and artistic experiences for school students, which play a major role in creating awareness of India’s rich cultural heritage and its vibrant diversity.
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18. BILATERAL ISSUES
Migration and Mobility Partnership Agreement • Union cabinet has approved the ratification of Migration and Mobility Partnership Agreement between India and France • The Agreement was actually signed in March, 2018 during the State Visit of the French President to India. • The Agreement represents a major milestone in enhancing people-to-people contacts, fostering mobility of students, academics, researchers and skilled professionals and strengthening cooperation on issues related to irregular migration and human trafficking between the two sides. • The Agreement is initially valid for a period of seven years, incorporates provision for automatic renewal and a monitoring mechanism through a Joint Working Group.
Kalapani Issue • Located within Uttarakhand, Kalapani is a 372-sq km area bordering far-west Nepal and Tibet. • As per the administrative records, dating back to 1830s the Kalapani area had been administered as part of the Pithoragarh district (then Almora district). • According to Nepal's claim, it lies in Darchula district, Sudurpashchim Pradesh. • The dispute is because of the ambiguity of the source of the Kali River. Nepal views Kali river as Lipu River as opposed to India's view. • In the Indian view, the Kali River begins only after Lipu Gad/river is joined by other streams arising from the Kalapani springs. • The area between the Lipu Gad/Kalapani River and the watershed of the river is the disputed Kalapani territory.
19. INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATIONS
UNMOGIP • In 1948, the Security Council adopted resolution 39, establishing the United Nations Commission for India and Pakistan (UNCIP) to investigate and mediate the dispute of Kashmir. • In 1949, at the recommendation of UNCIP, first team of unarmed military observers, which eventually formed the nucleus of the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP), arrived in the mission area to supervise, in the State of Jammu and Kashmir, the ceasefire between India and Pakistan and to assist the Military Adviser to UNCIP. • In July 1972, India and Pakistan signed an agreement defining a Line of Control in Kashmir, which, with minor deviations, followed the same course as the ceasefire line established by the Karachi Agreement in 1949. • India took the position that the mandate of UNMOGIP had lapsed, since it related specifically to the ceasefire line under the Karachi Agreement. Pakistan, however, did not accept this position. • Given the disagreement between the two parties over UNMOGIP's mandate and functions, the Secretary- General's position has been that UNMOGIP could be terminated only by a decision of the Security Council. • In the absence of such an agreement, UNMOGIP has been maintained with the same arrangements as established following December 1971 ceasefire. • Since the Simla Agreement of 1972, India has adopted a non-recognition policy towards third parties in their bilateral exchanges with Pakistan over the question regarding the state of Jammu and Kashmir. • The military authorities of Pakistan have continued to lodge alleged ceasefire violations complaints with UNMOGIP.
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• The military authorities of India have lodged no complaints since January 1972 limiting the activities of the UN observers on the Indian-administered side of the Line of Control, though they continue to provide necessary security, transport and other services to UNMOGIP.
Conventions against the targeting of cultural heritage • Following the unparalleled destruction of cultural heritage in World War II, the nations of the world adopted at The Hague in 1954. • The Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, the first international treaty focused exclusively on the protection of cultural heritage during war and armed conflict. • The Convention defined cultural property as “movable or immovable property of great importance to the cultural heritage of every people, such as monuments of architecture, art or history, whether religious or secular; archaeological sites….”, etc. • The signatories, referred to in the Convention as “the High Contracting Parties”, committed themselves to protecting, safeguarding, and having respect for cultural property. • There are currently 133 signatories to Convention, including countries that have acceded to and ratified the treaty. • Both the United States and Iran (as well as India) signed the Convention on May 14, 1954, and it entered into force on August 7, 1956.
G-77 Nations • G-77, established in 1964 by 77 developing countries in Geneva. • It aims to provide the means for the countries of the South to articulate and promote their collective economic interests. • It enhance their joint negotiating capacity on all major international economic issues within the UN system and promote South-South cooperation for development. • The Group of 77 is the largest intergovernmental organization of developing countries in the United Nations. • India is among the members of the G77. • Recently Guyana, a South American nation is selected to head the G-77 grouping.
Seafarers’ Competency Certificates • In Shipping Industry Seafarers’ Competency Certificate stands for Certificate of Competency. • Certificate of Competency is a license to sail and work on board a ship, in different capacities. • It is issued under the provisions of Indian Merchant Shipping Act,1958 and International Convention on STCW for seafarers, 1978(as amended). • Union government approved a model pact with foreign countries for recognition of seafarers’ competency certificates. • This will pave the way for mutual recognition of maritime education and training of seafarers by the countries involved.
SAARC • The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is the regional intergovernmental organization and geopolitical union of states in South Asia. • SAARC was founded in Dhaka, Bangladesh on 1985, Its secretariat is based in Kathmandu, Nepal. • Its member states are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. • Approximately SAARC comprises 3% of the world's area, 21% of the world's population and 4% of the global economy. .
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• The organization promotes development of economic and regional integration and it launched the South Asian Free Trade Area in 2006. • SAARC maintains permanent diplomatic relations at the United Nations as an observer.
Interpol Notice • According to the Interpol “Notices are international requests for cooperation or alerts allowing police in member countries to share critical crime-related information.” • There are seven types of notices - Red Notice, Yellow Notice, Blue Notice, Black Notice, Green Notice, Orange Notice, and Purple Notice. • The Blue Notice is issued to “collect additional information about a person’s identity, location or activities in relation to a crime.” • While a Red Corner, notice is issued to seek arrest of a wanted person. • The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) website refers to Blue Notices as ‘B Series (Blue) Notices’. • It says, “The ‘B’ series notices are also called ‘enquiry notices’ and may be issued in order 1. To have someone’s identity verified 2. To obtain particulars of a person’s criminal record 3. To locate someone who is missing or is an identified or unidentified international criminal or is wanted for a violation of ordinary criminal law whose extradition may be requested.
Classification of Endanger Languages • UNESCO has six degrees of endangerment. These are, 1. Safe - which are the languages spoken by all generations and their intergenerational transmission is uninterrupted. 2. Vulnerable Languages - which are spoken by most children but may be restricted to certain domains. 3. Definitely endangered languages, which are no longer being learnt by children as their mother tongue. 4. Severely endangered are languages spoken by grandparents and older generations, and while the parent generation may understand it, they may not speak it with the children or among themselves. 5. Critically endangered languages are those of which the youngest speakers are the grandparents or older family members who may speak the language partially or infrequently. 6. Extinct languages, of which no speakers are left. • Considering these definitions, Seke may be considered to be a definitely endangered language. • As per UNESCO, roughly 57 per cent of the world’s estimated 6,000 languages are safe, about 10 per cent are vulnerable, 10.7 per cent are definitely endangered, about 9 per cent are severely endangered, 9.6 per cent are critically endangered and about 3.8 per cent of all languages are extinct since 1950. • As per the Endangered Languages Project (ELP), there are roughly 201 endangered languages in India and about 70 in Nepal.
Endangered Language Alliance • Founded in 2010, the Endangered Language Alliance (ELA) is a non-profit based dedicated to supporting linguistic diversity and endangered languages in New York City and beyond. • ELA’s unique network of researchers, activists, and students documents the speech, stories, and songs of immigrant, refugee, and diaspora communities, bringing it to a wider audience.
Polar Science • Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), India and Ministry of Education and Research, Sweden has signed an agreement on cooperation in polar science.
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• India and Sweden are both signatories to the Antarctic Treaty and to the Protocol to the Antarctic Treaty on Environmental Protection. • Sweden as one of the eight "Arctic States" is one of the Member State in the Arctic Council whereas India has the Observer Status in the Arctic Council. • Sweden has a vigorous scientific program in the Polar Regions, both in Arctic and Antarctic. • India likewise, has sustained scientific research programs in both the Polar Regions as well as in the oceanic realm. • The collaboration between India and Sweden in polar science will enable sharing of the expertise available with both Countries.
20. INTERNATIONAL ISSUES AND EVENTS
International Day of Yoga • The International Day of Yoga has been celebrated annually on 21 June since 2015. • PM Narendra Modi, first proposed the idea of International Day of Yoga during his address at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), in 2014. • Following this initial proposal, the UNGA held informal consultations on the draft resolution, entitled "International Day of Yoga". • India's Permanent Representative introduced the draft resolution in the United Nations General Assembly. • The draft text received broad support from 177 Member States who sponsored the text, which was adopted without a vote. • 177 nations co-sponsored the resolution, which is the highest number of co-sponsors ever for any UNGA resolution of such nature.
JUS COGENS • JUS COGENS or ius cogens, meaning “compelling law” in Latin, are rules in international law that are peremptory or authoritative, and from which states cannot deviate. • These norms cannot be offset by a separate treaty between parties intending to do so, since they hold fundamental values. • Today, most states and international organisations accept the principle of jus cogens, which dates back to Roman times. • The jus cogens rules have been sanctioned by the Vienna Conventions on the Law of Treaties of 1969 and 1986. • According to both Conventions, a treaty is void if it breaches jus cogens rules. • Besides treaties, unilateral declarations also have to abide by these norms. • So far, an exhaustive list of jus cogens rules does not exist. • However, the prohibition of slavery, genocide, racial discrimination, torture, and the right to self- determination are recognized norms. • The prohibition against apartheid is also recognized as a jus cogens rule, from which no derogation is allowed, since apartheid is against the basic principles of the United Nations. • Recently US administration has threatened Iran by tweeting that, it might attack Iran’s cultural sites by doing so US is trying to ignore the JUS COGENS legislation ( Attacking any cultural site is a war crime)
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Cultural Heritage of Iran • Iran is home to one of the world’s oldest civilizations dating back to 10,000 BC. • Its rich heritage and culture is an amalgam of Arab, Persian, Turkish and South Asian cultures. • Twenty-four Iranian sites are on UNESCO’s World Heritage List, two of which are natural sites and the rest cultural sites. • Among the main World Heritage Sites in Iran are 1. Meidan Emam and Masjed-e-Jame in Isfahan; 2. Golestan Palace in the historic heart of Tehran; 3. Pasargadae and Persepolis, capitals of the Achaemenid Empire, founded by Cyrus II and Darius I in the 6th century BC 4. Archaeological site of Takht-e Soleyman, which has the remains of an ancient Zoroastrian sanctuary.
Cultural properties destroyed during wars • Dubrovnik - During the Siege of Dubrovnik in 1991-92 by the Yugoslav People’s Army, the old town of Dubrovnik in Croatia was targeted in an attempt to wipe out Croatian history and cultural heritage. • Stari Most bridge - During the Croat-Bosniak war, Croat paramilitary forces destroyed the 16th century Stari Most bridge in Mostar in today’s Bosnia-Herzegovina, in 1993. • Bamiyan - In 2001, the Taliban destroyed statutes of the Buddha that had been carved into sandstone cliffs in Bamiyan, Afghanistan, between the 3rd and 6th centuries AD. • Cambodia’s cultural assets - In 2006, the UN and the Cambodian government established the Khmer Rouge Tribunal to prosecute the destruction of Cambodia’s cultural assets that included mosques, churches and temples along with other sites of cultural significance. • Palmyra - In 2015, the IS captured and destroyed the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Al-Shabaab Militant Group • Al-Shabaab is a jihadist fundamentalist group based in East Africa. • In 2012, it pledged allegiance to the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda. • Recently Somalia’s al Shabaab militant group killed three Americans during an attack in a military base in Kenya. • The Manda Bay Airfield in Lamu county of Kenya is closer to the Somali border is used by both U.S. and Kenyan forces.
Sagarmatha Sambaad • Sagarmatha Sambaad is the first ever multi-stakeholder diplomatic initiative of Nepal. • Leaders of the member countries of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and other global leaders are invited for the event. • The event will be focusing on the threat of climate change to the modern world. • Given the large number of global leaders, the event is expected to serve as a venue for bilateral interaction among leaders from various countries. • The event is planned on April 2-4, 2020 which will highlight Nepal’s ability to assert its point of view before the global audience.
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21. ECONOMY eBkray • It is a platform launched by the Ministry of Finance. • It enables online auction of assets attached by various state-run banks. • It provides navigational links to all PSB e-auction sites, property search feature and presents single-window access to information on properties up for e-auction. • It also provides facility for comparison of similar properties. • It seeks to bring in transparency in the sale of properties.
Economic Survey • The Economic Survey is a report the government presents on the state of the economy in the past one year, the key challenges it anticipates, and their possible solutions. • The first Economic Survey was presented in 1950-51, Until 1964, the document would be presented along with the Budget. • The document is prepared by the Economic Division of the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) under the guidance of the Chief Economic Adviser (CEA). • Once prepared, the Survey is approved by the Finance Minister. • One day before the Union budget, the Chief Economic Adviser (CEA) of the country releases the Economic Survey. • For the past few years, the Economic Survey has been presented in two volumes. • For example, in 2018-19, while Volume 1 focused on research and analysis of the challenges facing the Indian economy, Volume 2 gave a more detailed review of the financial year, covering all the major sectors of the economy. • The Economic Survey is a crucial document as it provides a detailed, official version of the government’s take on the country’s economic condition. • The government is not constitutionally bound to present the Economic Survey or to follow the recommendations that are made in it. • If the government so chooses, it can reject all suggestions laid out in the document. • However, while the Centre is not obliged to present the Survey at all, it is tabled because of the significance it holds.
TCEPF • The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) announced that all telecom service providers would need to deposit all unclaimed money of consumers, including excess charges and security deposit, in the Telecommunication Consumers Education and Protection Fund (TCEPF). • According to TRAI while some service providers were depositing money only because of excess billing revealed in the audit, others were depositing unclaimed money such as security deposits and plan charges of failed activations. • It is prudent to deposit any such unclaimed / un-refundable amount belonging to consumers in the TCEP fund, as it will be utilized for the welfare measures of the consumers. • An amendment in the TCEPF regulation may be carried out to remove any kind of ambiguity and facilitate deposit of any unclaimed money of the consumer such as excess charges, security deposit, plan charges of failed activations, etc. • The TCEPF Regulations, 2007, which have now been amended, provide the basic framework for depositing unclaimed money of consumers by service providers, maintenance of the TCEPF and other related aspects.
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• With this amendment, service providers will deposit any unclaimed consumer money of any form such as excess charges, security deposit, plan charges of failed activations, or any amount belonging to a consumer, which service providers are unable to refund to consumers, to the fund after providing time of 12 months or period of limitation specified under law whichever is later.
22. ENVIRONMENT
India’s Deep Sea Exploration Project • Indian scientists are preparing to set sail to a region of the Indian Ocean, off the East coast of Madagascar, where they believe are plenty of valuable minerals to pick up. • At a point in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Madagascar, around 26° South, three mid-ocean ridges intersect, This is estimated to be a highly productive area. • The massive deposits “can range from several thousands to 100 million tonnes. • The sea-bed sampling that NCPOR is planning for next year will pinpoint the best areas for further exploration and mining. • This region has been proven to contain rich deposits of polymetallic nodules that hold copper and cobalt. • India has an exclusive exploration right over a 75,000 sq km area. • It’s been two years since India leased a 10,000 sq km area (for 15 years) from the International Seabed Authority. • National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR), Goa and Chennai-based National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT), will jointly purchase an autonomous underwater vehicle — an unmanned, pre- programmed vehicle that can dive into the ocean and collect pictures and samples. • Both NCPOR and NIOT are research institutions under the Ministry of Earth Sciences. • NCPOR has “identified a dozen locations”, potential candidates for detailed exploration for tapping into minerals spewed by ‘hydrothermal vents’.
Samudrayaan • The machine, currently stationed at NIOT, will move on tracks, but in order they don’t get mired into the seabed, the vehicle has buoys on it to keep pulling it upwards. • This machine is a precursor to another equipment, informally christened ‘Samudrayaan’, which will contain a module to hold human beings.
State of India’s forest Report 2019 • The biennial State of India’s forest Report 2019 is published by Forest Survey of India (FSI), a premier institution under the Ministry of Environment and forest. • According to the recent report, compared to the last assessment of 2017, • The total tree and forest cover in the country increased by 5,188 Sqkm with sharpest declines in the northeastern states • There is an increase of 46 million tonnes in the carbon stock of the country • The total forest cover (TFC) in 2019 is 21.67% of the total geographical area (TGA) of the country as against 21.54% in 2017. • Tree and forest cover together made up 24.39% of the geographical area. • In terms of canopy density classes, area covered by Very Dense Forests (VDF) is 3.02%, Moderately Dense Forest is 9.39% and Open Forest is 9.26%. • The category of VDF is defined as a canopy cover over 70 per cent has increased by a mere 1.14% between 2017 and 2019.
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• The forest cover within the Recorded Forest Area or officially classified as ‘forest’ by States/Centre showed a decrease, but ‘forest’ outside such recorded area increased by 4,306 sqkm. • Maharashtra had the largest extent of such tree outside forest. • The top three States showing an increase in forest cover are Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala. • Area-wise Madhya Pradesh has the largest forest cover in the country followed by Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Maharashtra. • In terms of forest cover as percentage of total geographical area, the top five States are Mizoram (85.41%), Arunachal Pradesh (79.63%), Meghalaya (76.33%), Manipur (75.46%) and Nagaland (75.31%). • The mangrove cover increased by 54 sqkm, or about 1%, from the last assessment, with Gujarat and Maharashtra registering the largest improvements.
Forest Survey of India • Forest Survey of India (FSI) is an organisation under the Ministry of Environment & Forests. • Its principal mandate is to conduct survey and assessment of forest resources in the country. • The Forest Survey of India organize the training programmes to state sponsored forest personnel. • FSI releases State of Forest Report biennially based on satellite imageries. • According to the State of Forest Report, the definition of forest cover includes all lands more than 1 hectare in area with a tree canopy of more than 10 per cent, irrespective of land use, ownership, and legal status
Tree cover and Forest Cover • The Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change defines ‘forest cover’ in India as “all lands, more than one hectare in area with a tree canopy density of more than 10%” • Similarly ‘tree cover’ is defined as “tree patches outside recorded forest areas exclusive of forest cover and less than the minimum mappable area of 1 hectare”. • There is a third measure known as Tree outside forest (TOF). • The ‘India State of Forest Report 2017’ defines TOF as “trees existing outside the recorded forest area in the form of block, linear & scattered size of patches”. • Since tree cover measures only non-forest patches that are less than 1 hectare, it is only a part of TOF.
Wetland Conservation Rules • Union government has notified new rules that prohibit setting up or expansion of industries, and disposal of construction and demolition waste within the wetlands. • The rules, provide for setting up an authority in each state and Union Territory. • The authority will prepare a list of all wetlands of the state or UT within three months and make strategies for conservation and wise use of wetlands within their jurisdiction. • It (authority) shall recommend mechanisms for maintenance of ecological character through promotional activities for land within the boundary of notified wetlands. • The authority will include one expert each in the fields of wetland ecology, hydrology, fisheries, landscape planning and socio-economics. • The wetlands are land areas covered by water, either temporarily/ seasonally or permanently. • Marsh, fen and peatland come under this category, The wetlands play a key role in hydrological cycle and flood control, water supply and providing food, fibre and raw materials. • The Centre had in September 2019, identified 130 wetlands for priority restoration in the next five years and asked states to submit their respective integrated management plan. • The highest number of such identified wetlands are in Uttar Pradesh (16) followed by Madhya Pradesh (13), Jammu & Kashmir (12), Gujarat (8), Karnataka (7) and West Bengal (6).
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• ISRO had in 2011 come out with a national wetlands atlas on the basis of satellite image, mapping over two lakh wetlands covering around 4.63% of the total geographic area of India.
India’s prominent wetlands include • Chilika lake - Odisha • Wular lake - J&K , • Renuka - Himachal Pradesh , • Sambhar lake - Rajasthan, • Deepor Beel - Assam, • East Kolkata wetlands - West Bengal, • Nal Sarovar - Gujarat, • Harika - Punjab, • Rudra Sagar – Tripura, • Bhoj wetland - Madhya Pradesh.
Wetlands • Wetlands are areas where water is the primary factor controlling the environment and the associated plant and animal life. • They occur where the water table is at or near the surface of the land, or where the land is covered by water. • Wetlands provide a wide range of important resources and ecosystem services such as food, water, fiber, groundwater recharge, water purification, flood moderation, erosion control and climate regulation. • They are, in fact, are a major source of water and our main supply of freshwater comes from an array of wetlands which help soak rainfall and recharge groundwater. • Five major wetland types are generally recognized: 1. Marine - Coastal wetlands including coastal lagoons, rocky shores, and coral reefs. 2. Estuarine - Including deltas, tidal marshes, and mangrove swamps. 3. Lacustrine - Wetlands associated with lakes. 4. Riverine - Wetlands along rivers and streams. 5. Palustrine - Meaning “marshy” - marshes, swamps and bogs. 6. Human-made wetlands - such as fish and shrimp ponds, farm ponds, irrigated agricultural land, saltpans, reservoirs, gravel pits, sewage farms and canals.
Ramsar Convention • The Ramsar Convention signed on February 2, 1971, is one of the oldest inter-governmental accord signed by members countries to preserve the ecological character of their wetlands of international importance. • The aim of the Ramsar list is to develop and maintain an international network of wetlands, which are important for the conservation of global biological diversity and for sustaining human life through the maintenance of their ecosystem components, processes and benefits. • Wetlands declared as Ramsar sites are protected under strict guidelines of the convention. • The convention dose not directly bind on the nation, but countries formulate policies based on it. • The Ramsar Convention has adopted a Ramsar Classification of Wetland Type which includes 42 types, grouped into three categories: 1. Marine and Coastal Wetlands, 2. Inland Wetlands,
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3. Human-made Wetlands • Recently 10 more wetlands from India gets the Ramsar site tag. • Maharashtra gets its first, Punjab adds 3 and UP 6 to its list. • The total number of Ramsar sites in India are now 37 & the surface area covered by these sites is 1,067,939 hectares. • List of Ramsar Sites in India are as follows
S.No State Site Name
1 Andhra Pradesh 1. Kolleru Lake
2 Assam 2. Deepor Beel
3 Gujarat 3. Nalsarovar Sanctuary
3 Himachal 4. Pong Dam Lake 5. Renuka Wetland 6. Chandertal
4 J&K 7. Hokera Wetland 8. Surinsar-Mansar Lakes 9. Wular Lake
4 Kerala 10. Vembanad Kol Wetland 11. Sasthamkotta Lake 12. Asthamudi Wetland
5 Ladakh 13. Tsomoriri Lake
6 Madhya Pradesh 14. Bhoj Wetlands
7 Maharashtra 15. Nandur Madhameshwar ( added in 2020)
7 Manipur 16. Loktak Lake
8 Orissa 17. Chilka Lake 18. Bhitarkanika Mangroves
9 Punjab 19. Harike Lake 20. Kanjli Lake 21. Ropar Lake 22. Keshopur-Miani, 23. Beas Conservation Reserve, 24. Nangal
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10 Rajasthan 25. Keoladeo National Park 26. Sambhar Lake
11 Tamilnadu 27. Point Calimere
12 Tripura 28. Rudrasagar Lake
13 U.P 29. Upper Ganga River (Brijghat to Narora Stretch) 30. Nawabganj, 31. Parvati Agra, 32. Saman, 33. Samaspur, 34. Sandi 35. Sarsai Nawar
14 West Bengal 36. East Calcutta Wetlands 37. Sundarbans Wetland
‘Green Credit Scheme’ • The Forest Advisory Committee, an apex body tasked with adjudicating requests by the industry to raze forest land for commercial ends, has approved a scheme that could allow “forests” to be traded as a commodity. • If implemented, it allows the Forest Department to outsource one of its responsibilities of reforesting to non- government agencies. • The proposed ‘Green Credit Scheme’, as it is called, allows agencies — they could be private companies, village forest communities — to identify land and begin growing plantations. • After three years, they would be eligible to be considered as compensatory forest land if they met the Forest Department’s criteria. • An industry needing forestland could then approach the agency and pay it for parcels of such forested land, and this would then be transferred to the Forest Department and be recorded as forestland. • “The participating agency will be free to trade its asset, that is plantation, in parcels, with project proponents who need forest land,” • This is not the first time that such a scheme has been mooted. • In 2015, a ‘Green Credit Scheme’ for degraded forest land with public-private participation was recommended, but it was not approved by the Union Environment Minister, the final authority. • Such a scheme will encourage plantation by individuals outside the traditional forest area, will help in meeting international commitments such as sustainable development goals, and nationally determined contributions. • In the current system, industry needs to make good the loss of forest by finding appropriate non-forest land equal to that which would be razed. • It also must pay the State Forest Department the current economic equivalent called Net Present Value of the forestland. • It’s then the Forest Department’s responsibility to grow appropriate vegetation that, over time, would grow into forests. • Industries have often complained that they find it hard to acquire appropriate non-forest land, which has to be contiguous to existing forest.
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• The Centre had collected nearly ₹50,000 crore over decades, but the funds were lying unspent because States were not spending the money on re growing forests.
Dolpin Census • The dolphin census in Odisha coast was taken up by the Chilika Development Authority (CDA). • According to last year’s census, the Irrawaddy dolphin population in Chilika was 151, by which Chilika is considered as the highest single lagoon dolphin population in the world. • The census was conducted using hydrophones. • A hydrophone is a microphone designed to be used underwater for recording or listening to underwater sound. • Most hydrophones are based on a piezoelectric transducer that generates an electric potential when subjected to a pressure change, such as a sound wave. • A hydrophone can detect airborne sounds, but will be insensitive because it is designed to match the acoustic impedance of water, a denser fluid than air.
Exploratory Drilling License • The Environment Ministry has exempted oil and gas firms, looking to conduct exploratory drilling, from seeking an environmental clearance. • The clearance is for both on-shore and offshore drilling explorations and the process is an ecologically- intensive exercise that involves digging multiple wells and conducting seismic surveys offshore. • Until today, even exploratory surveys have merited the highest level of environmental scrutiny — called category ‘A’ — that required project proponents to prepare an environment impact assessment (EIA) plan, have it scrutinized by a centrally constituted committee of experts and subject the proposal to a public hearing involving the local residents of the proposed project site. • While public hearings, even for category A projects are frequently exempted if they are offshore, the new amendments demote exploratory projects to the category of ‘B2’. • This means it will be conducted by the States concerned and will not require an EIA. • The move is part of a larger process of ‘decentralization’ by the Centre in that it seeks to farm more regulatory actions to State and local units. • Developing an offshore or onshore drilling site as a hydrocarbon block will however continue to merit a “category A” treatment.
Phasing out HCFC-141 b • Hydro chlorofluorocarbon (HCFC)-141 b, which is a chemical used by foam manufacturing enterprises and one of the most potent ozone depleting chemical after Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) . • (HCFC)-141 b is used mainly as a blowing agent in the production of rigid polyurethane (PU) foams. • India had proactively and successfully taken the challenge of complete phase out of Hydro chlorofluorocarbon (HCFC)-141 b, by 1.1.2020. • In 2019 December, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) brought out a notification in the Gazette of India through which the issuance of import license for HCFC-141b is prohibited from 1st January, 2020 under Ozone Depleting Substances (Regulation and Control) Amendment Rules, 2019 issued under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. • HCFC-141b is not produced in the country and all the domestic requirements are met through imports. • With this notification, prohibiting the import of HCFC-141 b, the country has completely phased out the important ozone-depleting chemical. • Nearly, 50 % of the consumption of ozone depleting chemicals in the country was attributable to HCFC-141 b in the foam sector. • The phase out of HCFC-141b from the country has twin environmental benefits viz.
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(i) Assisting the healing of the stratospheric ozone layer, and (ii) Towards the climate change mitigation due to transitioning of foam manufacturing enterprises at this scale under HPMP to low global warming potential alternative technologies
1t.org • World Economic Forum, Davos has launched a global initiative to grow, restore and conserve 1 trillion trees around the world - in a bid to restore biodiversity and help fight climate change. • The initiative aims to unite and promote reforestation efforts worldwide through fund mobilization and political support. • The 1t.org (https://www.1t.org/) project aims to unite governments, non-governmental organizations, businesses and individuals in a "mass-scale nature restoration". • 1t.org offers innovative technologies, which will serve to connect tens of thousands of small and large groups around the world that are engaged in tree planting and forest restoration.
Bio-Rock • Bio rock is the name given to the substance formed by electro accumulation of minerals dissolved in seawater on steel structures that are lowered onto the sea bed. • The technology works by passing a small amount of electrical current through electrodes in the water. • When a positively charged anode and negatively charged cathode are placed on the sea floor, with an electric current flowing between them, calcium ions combine with carbonate ions and adhere to the structure (cathode). • This results in calcium carbonate formation, Coral larvae adhere to the CaCO3 and grow quickly. • Fragments of broken corals are tied to the bio rock structure, where they are able to grow at least four to six times faster than their actual growth as they need not spend their energy in building their own calcium carbonate skeletons. • The Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), with help from Gujarat’s forest department, is attempting for the first time a process to restore coral reefs. • Under the plan a biorock structure or mineral accretion technology was installed one nautical mile off the Mithapur coast in the Gulf of Kachchh, it will use solar panels that float on the surface as a power source.
National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) • The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) was established in December 2005 following a recommendation of the Tiger Task Force. • Tiger Task Force was constituted by the Prime Minister of India for reorganized management of Project Tiger and the Tiger Reserves in India. • The Government of India in co-operation with WWF started ‘Tiger Protection Program’ (popularly known as Project Tiger) in 1973.
Smog towers • First ever smog tower has been installed in New Delhi, Smog towers are structures designed to work as large- scale air purifiers. • They are usually fitted with multiple layers of air filters, which clean the air of pollutants as it passes through them. • The smog tower installed in Delhi is capable of treating 6,00,000 cubic meters of air per day and can collect more than 75 per cent of particulate matters (PM) 2.5 and 10. • After the cleaning, the tower releases clean air, it will focus on reducing particulate matter load. • The filters installed in the tower will use carbon nanofibers as a major component and will be fitted along its peripheries.
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• The project is a collaboration between the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay, IIT-Delhi and the University of Minnesota. • The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) will also be involved with the project. • Similar to this china, has two smog towers in its capital Beijing and in the northern city of Xi’an.
Scrubbers in Ships • Scrubber systems are a diverse group of air pollution control devices that can be used to remove some particulates and/or gases from industrial exhaust streams. • The International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) adopted the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) Annex VI in 2008 that regulates the prevention of air pollution from ships and prohibits deliberate emissions of ozone-depleting substances such as Sulphur oxides and nitrous oxides. • Following the adoption, exhaust scrubbers have become one of the most preferred ways of reducing Sulphur exhaust as they ‘scrub’ pollutants out of emissions. • However, out of the two types those are being used widely, while closed-loop scrubbers retain the Sulphur emissions for safer disposal at port, open-loop scrubbers release pollutants back in the sea after turning the Sulphur dioxide into sulphuric acid. • According to recent reports, there has been a huge increase in the use of open-loop scrubbers in Indian ships in just last one year. • The IMO it approves the use of open-loop scrubbers, deeming them as an ‘equivalent’ – which is defined as ‘any fitting, appliance or apparatus to be fitted in a ship or other procedures, alternative fuel oils, or compliance methods used as an alternative’. • However, it has strict guidelines for discharge of wash water from exhaust gas cleaning systems. SPECIES IN NEWS
Irrawaddy dolphins • Irrawaddy dolphins can grow to a length of 2.3 m and attain a weight of 130 kg. • This species is closely related to the killer whale, a much larger, oceanic dolphin that can grow to 8m and weigh in excess of 6 tones. • Although the species gets its common name from the Irrawaddy River in Myanmar, where it also lives, it was first described in 1866 from a specimen found in the Vishakapatnam harbour in present day Andhra Pradesh on India’s east coast. • Its range extends from the Bay of Bengal to New Guinea and the Philippines. • Besides the Irrawaddy River, it is also found in India’s Ganges, and Southeast Asia’s Mekong River. • However, it is not a true river dolphin and prefers to live in estuaries and brackish water near coasts. • Following the opening of the sea mouth in Chilika in 2002, and the consequent increase in water depth, dolphins have reportedly been recorded in more areas of the lake than before, perhaps indicating an expansion of suitable habitat. • Irrawaddy dolphins are classified as ‘Vulnerable’ in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. • In Chilika they can be seen singly, in pairs or as small groups of 4-6 individuals, they are slow swimmers.
Northern White Rhinoceros • The northern white rhinoceros or northern square-lipped rhinoceros is one of two subspecies of the white rhinoceros (the other being the southern white rhinoceros). • Formerly found in several countries in East and Central Africa south of the Sahara, this subspecies is a grazer in grasslands and savanna woodlands. • Since March 19, 2018, there are only two known rhinos of this subspecies left, both of which are female.
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• Neither of the two living northern white females can carry a pregnancy. • Barring the existence of unknown or misclassified male northern white rhinos elsewhere in Africa, this makes the subspecies functionally extinct. • The two female rhinos belong to a Zoo in the Czech Republic but live in a Conservancy in Kenya. • According to International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) the subspecies is considered "Critically Endangered (Possibly Extinct in the Wild) • Recently scientists used IVF (In vitro fertilization) for Rhinos, they created a test-tube embryo by fertilizing the egg of a southern white female with the frozen sperm of a northern white male. • The embryos have been preserved in liquid nitrogen, and will be transferred to a southern white surrogate. • Since the gestation period for a rhino could be 18 months, the first northern white calf is expected to arrive in the world in 2022. • The Indian rhinoceros is different from its African cousins, most prominently in that it has only one horn. • There is also a Javan rhino, which too, has one horn, and a Sumatran rhino, which, like the African rhinos, has two horns.
African Cheetahs • The cheetah is a large cat of the subfamily Felinae that occurs in North, Southern and East Africa, and a few localities in Iran. • It inhabits a variety of mostly arid habitats like dry forests, scrub forests, and savannahs. • The species is IUCN Red Listed as Vulnerable, as it suffered a substantial decline in its historic range in the 20th century due to habitat loss, poaching for the illegal pet trade, and conflict with humans. • By 2016, the global cheetah population has been estimated at approximately 7,100 individuals in the wild. • Several African countries have taken steps to improve cheetah conservation measures. • African cheetahs are capable of accelerating up to 112 km/h (70 mph) on short distances of 100 m (330 ft), therefore they are the fastest land animal. • Recently Supreme Court lifted its seven-year stay on a proposal to introduce African cheetahs from Namibia into the Indian habitat on an experimental basis to revive the Indian cheetah population in the Palpur Kuno sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh.
Locust Attack • Locusts are a collection of certain species of short-horned grasshoppers that have a swarming phase. • These insects are usually solitary, but under certain circumstances, they become more abundant and change their behavior and habits, becoming gregarious. • Adult locust swarms can fly up to 150 km a day with the wind and adult insects can consume roughly their own weight in fresh food per day. • These hoppers in small numbers or groups do not cause any economic damage to crops unless they appear in swarms. • A very small swarm eats as much in one day as about 35,000 people, posing a devastating threat to crops and food security. • Locusts do not attack people or animals; there is no evidence that suggests that locusts carry diseases that could harm humans. • India has not witnessed any full-blown locust cycles after 1962, however, during 1978 and 1993, large-scale upsurges were observed. • Recently few villages of Punjab and Haryana bordering Rajasthan has reported presence of locusts. • Experts believe that appearance of locusts in winter months is a new phenomenon and may be linked to climate change.
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Giant Tusked Elephant • Recent study has found that about 800,000 years ago, a giant straight-tusked elephant migrated out of Africa and spread across Europe and Asia. • The elephant is marked by a huge head, which is 4.5 feet from the top of the skull roof to the base of the tusk sheaths. • The elephant divided into many species, such as 1. Palaeoloxodon antiquus (in Europe), 2. Palaeoloxodon namadicus (India), 3. Palaeoloxodon naumanni (Japan). • All these species are now extinct. • For a long time, it was thought that the European species had a rather slenderly built skull roof crest, whereas Indian species was characterized by an extremely robust skull crest that extended near to the base of the trunk from the top of the skull. • However, some skulls, found in Italy and Germany, with almost the same exaggerated skull crest as the Indian form, raised confusion whether these were the same as the Indian species. • The new study has concluded that there was a single European species. • Measurements showed that even in European skulls with pronounced crests, the skull roof never becomes as thickened as in the Indian specimens. • On the other hand, fossils found in Asia and East Africa represent distinct species that evolved.
Archaea • Archaea are a primitive group of microorganisms that thrive in extreme habitats such as hot springs, cold deserts and hypersaline lakes. • These slow-growing organisms are also present in the human gut, and have a potential relationship with human health. • They are known for producing antimicrobial molecules, and for anti-oxidant activity with applications in eco- friendly waste-water treatment. • Archaea are extremely difficult to culture due to challenges in providing natural conditions in a laboratory setting. • As archaea are relatively poorly studied, very little is known about how archaea behave in the human body. • Scientists have reported a new archaeon (a kind of microorganism), which they discovered in Sambhar Salt Lake in Rajasthan. • It has been named Natrialba swarupiae, after Dr Renu Swarup, secretary, Department of Biotechnology.
Xenobots • Scientists in the United States have created the world’s first “living machines”. • These are tiny robots built from the cells of the African clawed frog, that can move around on their own. • They have named the millimetre-wide robots “xenobots” — after the species of aquatic frog found across sub- Saharan Africa from Nigeria and Sudan to South Africa, Xenopus laevis. • The xenobots can move toward a target, perhaps pick up a payload (like a medicine that needs to be carried to a specific place inside a patient) and heal themselves after being cut.
Extraocular Vision • Recently researchers have shown that a species of brittle stars, which are relatives of starfish, can see even though it does not have eyes.
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• The red brittle star (Ophiocoma wendtii), which lives in the coral reefs of the Caribbean Sea, becomes only the second creature, after a sea urchin species, known to have this ability. • The ability to see without eyes is known as extraocular vision. • Previous researchers have defined it as the ability to resolve scenes without discrete eyes. • In sea urchins and brittle stars, extraocular vision is facilitated by the photoreceptor cells found on their bodies. • The researchers suggest that a brittle star sees with the help of light-sensing cells that cover its entire body. • These light-sensing cells give the brittle star visual stimuli, allowing it to recognize coarse structures such as rocks, the research suggests.
Chinese paddlefish • Psephurus gladius, a Chinese paddlefish living in the Yangtze River (Asia's longest river), was declared extinct. • Psephurus gladius was about 2 to 3 meters long, and could grow longer than 7 meters. • The fish had existed for 15 million years. • The Chinese paddlefish had also been on the critically endangered list since 1996. • It was the largest freshwater fish in China might have gone extinct between 2005 and 2010. • Experts from the International Union for Conservation of Nature estimated that this unique and first-class protected fish had been extinct already. • Two other notable Yangtze species reeves shad, a type of fish and the baiji, or Yangtze River dolphin were declared 'functionally extinct' in 2015 and 2006 respectively. • From Jan 1, 2020, China began a 10-year fishing ban on key areas of the Yangtze River to protect biodiversity in the country's longest river.
23. SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
SPACE
Goldilocks zone • A habitable zone, also called the “Goldilocks zone”, is the area around a star where it is not too hot and not too cold for liquid water to exist on the surface of surrounding planets. • Obviously, our Earth is in the Sun’s Goldilocks zone. • If Earth were where the dwarf planet Pluto is, all its water would freeze; on the other hand, if Earth were where Mercury is, all its water would boil off.
TOI 700 d • Recently NASA reported the discovery of an Earth-size planet, named TOI 700 d, orbiting its star in the “habitable zone”. • TOI 700 d measures 20% larger than Earth. • It orbits its star once every 37 days and receives an amount of energy that is equivalent to 86% of the energy that the Sun provides to Earth. • The newest such planet was found by NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) mission, which it launched in 2018. • Very few such Earth-size planets have been found so far, including some by NASA’s Kepler mission, and this one is the first such discovery by TESS.
Venus Volcanoes
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• New research suggests that the Earth’s sister planet Venus has active volcanoes. • According to the study lava flows on Venus may be only a few years old. • This suggests that Venus could be volcanically active today, making it the only planet in our solar system, other than Earth, with recent eruptions. • The Visible Infrared Thermal Imaging Spectrometer (VIRTIS) on the Venus Express orbiter has measured the amount of infrared light emitted from part of Venus’ surface during its nighttime, shedding new light on volcanism on the planet. • This allowed scientists to differentiate the fresh lava flows on the surface of Venus from the older ones. • Earlier, the ages of lava eruptions and volcanoes on Venus could not be identified because the alteration rate of fresh lava was not well constrained. • The new research led by Universities Space Research Association (USRA) has used data from the European Space Agency’s (ESA’s) Venus Express orbiter to confirm that the lava flows are recent and Venus could have currently active volcanoes.
Human Space Flight Centre • India’s world-class facility for training GAGANYAAN astronauts will be established in three years at Challakere. • It is a shrubby, arid oilseeds town on the Bengaluru-Pune NH4 in Chitradurga district of Karnataka. • The 400-acre ISRO land at Challakere will be the single-stop consolidating infrastructure and activities related to space travellers. • Challakere will also host work related to crew and service modules of the spacecraft that carries the astronauts and up to mission control. • Challakere, is called the Science City, it houses facilities of the ISRO, the Defence Research & Development Organisation’s Advanced Aeronautical Test Range, the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre and the Indian Institute of Science.
GAGANYAAN Mission • Gaganyaan is an Indian crewed orbital spacecraft intended to be the formative spacecraft of the Indian Human Spaceflight Programme. • The spacecraft is being designed to carry three people, and a planned upgraded version will be equipped with rendezvous and docking capability. • In its maiden crewed mission, Indian Space Research Organisation's largely autonomous 3.7-tonne (8,200 lb) capsule will orbit the Earth at 400 km (250 mi) altitude for up to seven days with a two or three-person crew on board. • The crewed vehicle is planned to be launched on ISRO's GSLV Mk III in December 2021.
Star Link satellites • SpaceX has launched its third batch of mini-satellites into orbit, consisting of 60 mini-satellites as a part of star link satellite constellation. • The satellite cluster was launched on-board the Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida. • Star Link is a plan of SpaceX to build a giant constellation of thousands of satellites that form a global broadband Internet system. • To address the space debris issue Star link is designed in a way to use their propulsion systems to de-orbit over the course of a few months and if they fail, they will burn up naturally in the atmosphere in under five years, when their lifetime is almost up.
Bhuvan Panchayat • Bhuvan Panchayat is a Web portal developed by ISRO.
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• The Web Geo portal is developed for the benefit of Gram Panchayat members and other stakeholders, able to perform the following 1. Database visualization, 2. Data analytics, 3. Generation of automatic reports, 4. Model based products and services • The targeted audience for this portal are Public, PRIs and different stakeholders belonging to the gram panchayats. • ISRO National Remote Sensing Centre, which is the national repository of earth imageries, aids rural planners to plan and locate a healthcare unit, water harvesting, and rural communication network even from the panchayat office.
SISDP-Update Project • Satellite imagery-based database of rural natural resources, called SISDP, was launched by ISRO. • It will be the backbone of planning and decision-making in the country’s 2.5 lakh village panchayats, according to its main stakeholders in the departments of Space and Panchayat Raj. • The recent update to the project is short for Space-based Information Support for Decentralized Planning — uses high-resolution data from recent earth observation satellites and offers detailed information to panchayats about their key assets.
Spitzer Mission • The Spitzer Space Telescope is a space-borne observatory, one of the elements of NASA’s Great Observatories that include the Hubble Space Telescope and the Chandra X-Ray. • Using different infrared wavelengths, Spitzer was able to see and reveal features of the universe including objects that were too cold to emit visible light. • Apart from enabling researchers to see distant cold objects, Spitzer could also see through large amounts of gas using infrared wavelengths to find objects that may otherwise have been invisible to human beings. • These included exoplanets, brown dwarfs and cold matter found in the space between stars. • NASA’s Spitzer Mission, studied the universe in infrared light for more than 16 years. • It will come to an end since it is low on fuel and has been drifting away from Earth for a few years now. • Engineers will decommission the Spitzer aircraft, after which it will cease to conduct science operations.
Vyommitra • Vyommitra is ISRO’s first woman half-humanoid astronaut. • It will simulate human functions before real astronauts in Gaganyaan crew take off. • It will be used for an unmanned flight of ISRO’s GSLV III rocket (Gaganyaan Mission) in December 2020, which, along with a second unmanned flight in July 2021. • ISRO will send the human-resembling model in a space capsule around the end of 2020 or early 2021 to study how she and later real astronauts respond to living outside earth in controlled zero gravity conditions. • She can detect and give out warnings if environmental changes within the cabin get uncomfortable to astronauts and change the air condition. • She can take up postures suited for launch and tasks and take commands. • It can also able to perform following functions 1. Replacing carbon dioxide canisters, 2. Operating switches,
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3. Monitoring of the crew module, 4. Receiving voice commands, 5. Responding via speech (bilingual).
GSAT-30 • ISRO has launched latest communication satellite, GSAT-30, from the Guiana Space Centre in Kourou. • The 3,357-kg satellite will replace INSAT-4A which was launched in 2005 and marks the first mission of the year for Indian Space Research Organisation. • The high-power satellite is equipped with 12 normal C band and 12 Ku band transponders. • GSAT-30 will provide DTH (direct to home) television services, connectivity to VSATs (that support working of banks') ATMs, stock exchange, television uplinking and teleport services, digital satellite news gathering and e-governance applications. • The satellite will also be used for bulk data transfer for a host of emerging telecommunication applications. • The satellite will provide communication services to Indian mainland and islands through the Ku band and wide coverage over Gulf countries, a large number of Asian countries and Australia through the C band.” • For this operation ISRO hired a foreign launcher as GSAT-30 is much heavier than the 2,000-kg lifting capacity of its geostationary launch vehicle GSLV-MkII. HEALTH
H9N2 virus • Indian scientists have detected the country’s first case of infection with a rare variant of the virus that causes avian influenza, or bird flu. • In the December 2019 issue of the Emerging Infectious Diseases journal of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), scientists of the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune, have reported avian influenza A(H9N2) virus infection in a 17-month-old boy in Maharashtra. • H9N2 is a subtype of the influenza A virus, which causes human influenza as well as bird flu. • The H9N2 subtype was isolated for the first time in Wisconsin, US in 1966 from turkey flocks. • According to the US National Centre for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), H9N2 viruses are found worldwide in wild birds and are endemic in poultry in many areas. • H9N2 virus infections in humans are rare, but likely under-reported due to typically mild symptoms of the infections.
Pulse Polio Programme • India launched the Pulse Polio immunization programme in 1995, after a resolution for a global initiative of polio eradication was adopted by the World Health Assembly (WHA) in 1988. • Children in the age group of 0-5 years are administered polio drops during national and sub-national immunization rounds (in high-risk areas) every year. • Under the Pulse Polio programme, all states and Union Territories have developed Rapid Response Teams (RRT) to respond to any polio outbreak in the country. • Emergency Preparedness and Response Plans (EPRP) have also been developed by states, indicating steps to be undertaken in case of detection of a polio case. • To prevent the virus from coming to India, the government has since March 2014 made the Oral Polio Vaccination (OPV) mandatory for those travelling between India and polio-affected countries, such as Afghanistan, Nigeria, Pakistan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Syria and Cameroon. • India completed a full 5 years as a “polio-free nation” on January 13, 2016. • India’s last reported polio case was from Howrah, West Bengal in the year 2011.
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Polio Disease • The World Health Organization (WHO) defines polio or poliomyelitis as “a highly infectious viral disease, which mainly affects young children. • The virus is transmitted by person-to-person, spread mainly through the faecal-oral route or, less frequently, by a common vehicle (e.g. contaminated water or food) and multiplies in the intestine, from where it can invade the nervous system and can cause paralysis. • Initial symptoms of polio include fever, fatigue, headache, vomiting, stiffness in the neck, and pain in the limbs. • In a small proportion of cases, the disease causes paralysis, which is often permanent. • There is no cure for polio, it can only be prevented by immunization.”
EVALI Disease • Recently the number of deaths in the US caused due to the mysterious respiratory illness linked to vaping and e-cigarettes rose to 55. • As of December 2019, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a US federal agency, has reported 2,561 cases across the country who have suffered from the illness. • The CDC is tentatively referring to the disease as EVALI (e-cigarette, or vaping, product use associated lung injury). • E-cigarettes, also called ‘vapes’ or ‘electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS)’, are battery-run devices that were originally marketed as a safer alternative to smoking traditional cigarettes. • The disease ‘EVALI’ is unknown to doctors, and a link between vaping and the lung illness is yet to be concretely established. • Symptoms, according to the CDC, are those in common with other respiratory illnesses, including coughing, chest tightness, and shortness of breath, extreme fever or fatigue.
Yada Yada virus • Researchers have reported the discovery of a new virus called Yada Yada. • Yada Yada is an alphavirus, a group of viruses that are as “small, single-stranded positive-sense RNA viruses (that) include species important to human and animal health, such as Chikungunya virus and Eastern equine encephalitis virus… (and which) are transmitted primarily by mosquitoes and (are) pathogenic in their vertebrate hosts”. • Unlike some other alphaviruses, Yada Yada does not pose a threat to human beings. • The virus was detected in mosquitoes trapped as part of the Victorian Arbovirus Disease Control Programme in Encephalitis Virus Surveillance traps set up overnight in three locations in Victoria, Australia, for seven weeks in late 2016, the researchers reported.
Public Health Emergency of International Concern • A Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) is a formal declaration by the World Health Organization (WHO). • It is declared during an extraordinary event which is determined to constitute a public health risk to other States through the international spread of disease and to potentially require a coordinated international response. • It is formulated when a situation arises that is "serious, sudden, unusual or unexpected", which "carries implications for public health beyond the affected State's national border" and "may require immediate international action". • Under the 2005 International Health Regulations (IHR), states have a legal duty to respond promptly to a PHEIC. • Since 2009, there have been six PHEIC declarations: 1. In 2009 H1N1 (or swine flu) pandemic,
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2. In 2014 polio declaration, 3. In 2014 outbreak of Ebola in Western Africa, 4. In 2015–16 Zika virus epidemic, 5. In 2015-16 Kivu Ebola epidemic, 6. In 2020 novel coronavirus outbreak. • The recommendations are temporary and require reviews every three months. • SARS, smallpox, wild type poliomyelitis, and any new subtype of human influenza are automatically PHEICs and therefore do not require an IHR decision to declare them as such. • A PHEIC is not only confined to infectious diseases, and may cover an emergency caused by a chemical agent or a radio nuclear material. • It is a "call to action" and "last resort" measure. • Most epidemics and emergencies do not gain public attention or fulfil the criteria to be a PHEIC.
Sahana ( hemorrhagic septicemia) • Around 40 buffaloes have died within four days due to suspected Sahana disease (hemorrhagic septicemia) in a number of villages located in the Garadapur block of Odisha’s Kendrapara. • Hemorrhagic septicemia is a severe bacterial disease. • It spread through contact with infected animals, contaminated clothes, equipment and ingestion or inhalation of the bacteria. • The main symptoms of the disease include undigested food in faeces, swishing tail, reduced cudding reduced milk yield. • Burring the carcasses of infected animals in deep pits will prevent the spread of the disease.
Measles • Measles is a highly contagious viral disease. • It remains an important cause of death among young children globally, despite the availability of a safe and effective vaccine. • Also called German Measles, Rubella is a contagious, generally mild viral infection that occurs most often in children and young adults • Measles is transmitted via droplets from the nose, mouth or throat of infected persons. • Severe measles is more likely among poorly nourished young children, especially those with insufficient vitamin A, or whose immune systems have been weakened by HIV/AIDS or other diseases. • The most serious complications include blindness, encephalitis (an infection that causes brain swelling), severe diarrhea and related dehydration, and severe respiratory infections such as pneumonia. • Under the Global Vaccine Action Plan, measles and rubella are targeted for elimination in five WHO Regions by 2020. • Recently India has stepped in to help the Maldives tackle a recent outbreak of measles. • The Indian government’s initiative comes even as the two countries implement the Memorandum of Understanding on Health cooperation — signed during PM Narendra Modi’s visit to Male in June 2019.
Coronavirus • Chinese researchers has identified a new virus, it was responsible for a new pneumonia-like illness. • The researchers described the infectious agent as a “coronavirus”, identified in a hospitalized person with pneumonia in Wuhan.
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• Coronaviruses are a specific family of viruses, with some of them causing less-severe damage, such as the common cold, and others causing respiratory and intestinal diseases. • A coronavirus has many “regularly arranged” protrusions on its surface, because of which the entire virus particle looks like an emperor’s crown, hence the name “coronavirus”. • Apart from human beings, coronaviruses can affect mammals including pigs, cattle, cats, dogs, martens, camels, hedgehogs and some birds. • So far, there are four known disease-causing coronaviruses, among which the best known are the SARS corona virus and the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) coronavirus, both of which can cause severe respiratory diseases. • In the newly identified coronavirus, a direct link with the disease has not been established yet. OTHERS
POLYCRACK • POLYCRACK is world’s first patented heterogeneous catalytic process, which converts multiple feedstock into hydrocarbon liquid fuels, gas, carbon and water. • Polycrack Plant can be fed with all types of Plastic, Petroleum sludge, Un-segregated MSW (Municipal Solid Waste) with moisture up to 50%, E–Waste, Automobile fluff, Organic waste including bamboo, garden waste etc., and Jatropha fruit and palm bunch. • The process is a closed loop system and does not emit any hazardous pollutants into the atmosphere. • The combustible, non-condensed gases are re-used for providing energy to the entire system and thus, the only emission comes from the combustion of gaseous fuels. • Pre-segregation of waste is not required to reform the waste, It has high tolerance to moisture hence drying of waste is not required. • This process will produce energy in the form of Light Diesel Oil which is used to light furnaces. • Indian Railways commissions first Waste to Energy Plant based on POLYCRACK technology in Bhubaneswar. • The capacity of this Waste to Energy Plant is 500 Kg waste per day. • All types of waste including plastic and e-waste will be converted to Light Diesel Oil, which is used to light furnaces.
NEON • Among the most-discussed new concepts at the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas this year was NEON. • The first project of Samsung’s Star Labs, NEONs are being called the world’s first artificial humans. • They look and behave like real humans, and could one day develop memories and emotions though from behind a 4K display. • NEONs are computationally created virtual humans — the word derives from NEO (new) + humaN. • For now the virtual humans can show emotions when manually controlled by their creators. • But the idea is for NEONs to become intelligent enough to be fully autonomous, showing emotions, learning skills, creating memories, and being intelligent on their own
Lithium Sulfur (Li-S) Battery • Researchers from Australia have claimed that they have developed the world’s most efficient lithium-sulfur (Li-S) battery. • It is capable of powering a smartphone for five continuous days, the equivalent of an electric car being able to drive a distance of over 1,000 km. • Li-S battery has an “ultra-high capacity” and has better performance and less environmental impact.
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• This means that they may be able to outperform the Li-ion batteries by more than four times. • With Li-ion batteries, some disadvantages include their susceptibility to overheating and their being prone to damage at high voltages. • Such batteries also start losing their capacity over time — for instance, a laptop battery in use for a few years does not function as well as a new one. • While the materials used in the Li-S batteries are not different from those in Li-ion batteries, the researchers have reconfigured the design of the sulfur cathodes (a type of electrical conductor through which electrons move) to accommodate higher stress without a drop in overall capacity • Li-S batteries are considered as the successors of the Lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries because of their lower cost of production, energy efficiency and improved safety. • Their cost of production is lower because sulfur is abundantly available.
24. INDEX AND REPORT
Fastest Growing Cities • According to recent reports Malappuram at the top of the “Top ten fastest-growing cities” in the world, based on “Total % change, 2015-20 forecast”. • The list, based on data from the United Nations Population Division, appears unusual; this is because the total fertility rate (TFR, the number of children a woman is likely to have in the childbearing age of 15-49) in Kerala is 1.8 as per NITI Aayog data from 2016 below the replacement rate of 2.1. • The UN list refers to “urban agglomerations” (UA), which are extended areas built around an existing town along with its outgrowths — typically villages or other residential areas or universities, ports, etc., on the outskirts of the town. • The Census defines a UA as “a continuous urban spread consisting of a town and its adjoining urban outgrowths or two or more physically contiguous towns together”. • Thus, the UA of Greater Mumbai includes Greater Mumbai and the municipal corporation areas of Mira- Bhayander, Thane, Navi Mumbai, and Kalyan-Dombivali, plus the municipal council areas of Ulhasnagar, Ambernath and Badlapur. • The National Capital Territory of Delhi is a UA that includes the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) areas, as well as 107 “Census towns” erstwhile surrounding villages where more than 75% of the population is now engaged in non-agricultural pursuits. • Urban populations can grow when the birth rate exceeds the death rate (natural growth); when workers migrate to the city in search of jobs; when more areas get included within the boundaries of the city; or when existing rural areas are reclassified as urban. • The low fertility rate in Kerala means the increase in the population of Malappuram and other cities is not because women are having more children; rather it is because more villages are being transformed into towns, and city borders are expanding. • According to the Census definition, an urban area is either a census town (CT) or a statutory town (ST). An ST is any place with a municipal corporation, municipal council, or cantonment board. Performance Grading Index (PGI) • It aims to objectively evaluate the performance of the school education system in the States/UTs. • MHRD has designed a 70 indicators based matrix called Performance Grading Index (PGI) to grade the States and UTs.
State Energy Efficiency Index 2019 • ‘State Energy Efficiency Index 2019’, tracks the progress of Energy Efficiency (EE) initiatives in 36 states and union territories based on 97 significant indicators.
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• Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) develops the index in association with Alliance for an Energy Efficient Economy (AEEE). • It will help states contribute towards national goals on energy security and climate action by helping drive EE policies and program implementation at the state and local level, tracking progress in managing the states’ and India’s energy footprint and institutionalizing the data capture and monitoring of EE activities by states. • The first such Index, the “State Energy Efficiency Preparedness Index 2018”, was launched on August 1, 2018. • New indicators for this year include adoption of Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC) 2017, energy efficiency in MSME clusters, etc. • For rational comparison, States/UTs are grouped into four groups based on aggregated Total Primary Energy Supply (TPES) required to meet the state’s actual energy demand (electricity, coal, oil, gas, etc.) across sectors. • TPES grouping shall help states compare performance and share best practices within their peer group.
Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) • ASER is released annually by education non-profit Pratham. • The report is based on a survey conducted in 26 districts across 24 states; it also highlights a gender gap in schooling. • Recent estimates shows that only 37.4% of kids below six are able to recognize at least letters and only 25.6% can do additions, the survey has found • The government-run preschool system is losing out to private schools in terms of enrolment. • The lack of age-appropriate skills is alarming as this gap at an early age can impact the entire education supply chain in India. • The report underlined the need to focus on the early years to improve the basics of education • The study also showed how a better education level among mothers can lead to better outcomes among children in preschools and early schools. • The findings also showed that more girls are enrolled in government institutions and more boys in private institutions. • The gap in enrolment between boys and girls is larger among 6-8 year olds, with 61.1% of all girls versus 52.1% of all boys in this age group going to a government institution. • It is to be noted that in India government preschool system is managed through the Centre’s Integrated Child Development scheme, under the ministry of women and child development, while schools come under the education ministries at the Centre and in the states.
Social Mobility Index • Social Mobility Index is newly compiled, released by the World Economic Forum ahead of the 50th Annual Meeting of the WEF. • The Index measures countries across five key dimensions distributed over 10 pillars — health; education (access, quality and equity); technology; work (opportunities, wages, conditions); and protections and institutions (social protection and inclusive institutions). • The Index shows that fair wages, social protection and lifelong learning are the biggest drags on social mobility globally; the Index is topped by Denmark. • India ranks 76th out of 82 economies, the areas of improvement for India include social protection (76th) and fair wage distribution (79th), It ranks 41st in lifelong learning and 53rd in working conditions. • The Areas of improvement for India include social protection (76th) and fair wage distribution (79th). • The top five are all Scandinavian, while the five economies with the most to gain from boosting social mobility are China, the United States, India, Japan and Germany.
World Employment and Social Outlook Trends 2020 (WESO)
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• UN International Labour Organization (ILO) releases WESO report annually. • The report analyses key labour market issues, including unemployment, labour underutilization, working poverty, income inequality, labour Income share and factors that exclude people from decent work. • According to the recent report global unemployment is projected to increase by around 2.5 million in 2020 and almost half a billion people are working fewer paid works than they would like or lack adequate access to paid work.
Corruption Perceptions Index • The Corruption Perceptions Index is an index published annually by Transparency International since 1995. • It ranks countries "by their perceived levels of public sector corruption, as determined by expert assessments and opinion surveys. • The 2019 CPI draws on 13 surveys and expert assessments to measure public sector corruption in 180 countries and territories, giving each a score from zero (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean). • In the last eight years, out of 159 countries taken up for assessment only 22 countries significantly improved their CPI scores. • India’s ranking in the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI-2019) has slipped from 78 to 80 compared to the previous year. • In democracies like India and Australia, unfair and opaque political financing, undue influence in decision- making and lobbying by powerful corporate interest groups, has resulted in stagnation or decline in the control of corruption, observed the report. • The latest CPI report has revealed that a majority of countries are showing little to no improvement in tackling corruption.
Democracy Index 2019 • The Economist Intelligence Unit releases democracy Index annually. • It provides a snapshot of the state of world democracy for 165 independent states and two territories. • The Index is based on five categories: 1. Electoral process and pluralism. 2. Civil liberties. 3. Functioning of government. 4. Political participation. 5. Political culture. • Based on the scores on 60 indicators within these categories, each country is then itself classified as one of four types of regime 1. Full democracy 2. Flawed democracy 3. Hybrid regime 4. Authoritarian regime. • In 2019, India slipped 10 places to 51st position, It is placed in the “flawed democracy” category. • Its score, down from from 7.23 in 2018 to 6.90 in 2019, is its lowest ever since the Democracy Index was begun in 2006. • The report mentioned the stripping of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status with the repeal of Articles 370 and 35A, the various security measures that followed the bifurcation of the state including restriction of Internet access, and the exclusion of 1.9 million people from the final NRC (National Register of Citizens) in Assam, eroded civil liberties in the nation.
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Misery Index • Recently, there has been a demand to measure Indian economy on ‘Misery Index’. • The first misery index was created by Arthur Okun in 1960’s and was equal to the sum of inflation and unemployment rate figures to provide a snapshot of the US economy. • The higher the index, the more is the misery felt by average citizens. • It has broadened in recent times to include other economic indicators, such as bank lending rates. • In recent times, variations of the original misery index have become popular as a means to gauge the overall health of the global economy. • A variation of the original misery index is the Bloombergmisery index, developed by the online publication.
25. DEFENCE
Dhanush Gun System • Dhanush gun system was showcased for the first time at the 71st Republic Day parade. • The 155 mm/45-calibre gun system is a towed Howitzer designed indigenously by the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB), with contributions from DRDO. • It is the first long-range artillery gun to be produced in India. • The gun has a maximum range of 36.5 km and has the capability of automatic alignment and positioning. • It is equipped with inertial navigation-based sighting system, auto-laying facility, onboard ballistic computation and an advanced day and night direct firing system. • The self-propulsion unit allows it to negotiate and deploy itself in mountainous areas with ease, it is intended for use in all kinds of terrain. • It is an improved version of the FH-77B 155 mm/39-calibre field howitzers that were originally produced by AB Bofors of Sweden, which is now BAE Systems.
EX- SAMPRITI • SAMPRITI-IX is a joint military training exercise between India and Bangladesh. • It will be conducted at Umroi, Meghalaya from 3rd-16th February, 2020. • The exercise aims to build, strengthen and promote positive relations between the Armies of India and Bangladesh. • The exercise is hosted alternately by both countries. • The eighth edition of the exercise was conducted at Tangail, Bangladesh.
Operation Vanilla • Madagascar has been hit by a cyclone and there has been heavy flooding and landslips causing loss of lives and displacement of a number of people. • Indian Navy launched 'Operation Vanilla' in support of the national disaster in flood-hit Madagascar and diverted a large amphibious ship to provide assistance. • “INS Airavat, which was mission deployed has been diverted for the operation. • This operation signifies that Indian Navy has been the first responder for Humanitarian and Disaster Relief (HADR) in the Indian Ocean Region.
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MILAN 2020 • After successfully hosting the International Fleet Review (IFR) in Feb 2016, the review meeting was followed by site visits to various venues by the Nodal officers from the Navy and the attendees representing stakeholder organizations towards drawing out time bound action plans. • MILAN 2020 is a multilateral naval exercise aimed to enhance professional interaction between friendly foreign navies and learn from each other’s strengths and best practices in the maritime domain. • The Exercise with the theme ‘Synergy Across the Seas’ would provide an excellent opportunity for Operational Commanders of friendly foreign navies to interact with each other in areas of mutual interest. • Total 41 navies have been invited for the MILAN 2020 exercise. • City of Destiny Visakhapatnam will host this International Naval exercise in March 2020.
C-SASE • Centre for Snow and Avalanche Study Establishment (SASE), is a laboratory of the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO). • It is located near Manali, Himachal Pradesh its primary function is research in the field of snow and avalanches to provide avalanche control measures and forecasting support to Armed forces. • Recently it has issued an Avalanche warning to Leh in Ladakh region.
K- 4 Ballistic Missile • India recently test fired K-4 nuclear capable submarine launched ballistic missile. • It has a 3,500Km Strike range, developed by DRDO. • It is one of the two underwater missiles that are being de3veloped by India for its submarine force.
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